24 apr 2024 om 06:30
Batavia Stad, the first so-called outlet center in the Netherlands, now also has a webshop. A new development for this type of store concepts, where well-known brands sell their old stocks at a significant discount.
“We now have about thirty brands on the site,” says CEO Otto Ambagtsheer of parent company VIA Outlets in conversation with NU.nl. “We are the first outlet center to do this.” Yet it seems very late, in a shopping world that has long embraced online.
“It is not easy to put all the products for sale in the stores in Batavia Stad online at the right price,” Ambagtsheer explains. “And to take them off when they are no longer there.” Because if there’s one thing online shoppers don’t like, it’s buying something that no longer appears to be there.
Ultimately, all 150 brands that are also for sale in the ‘village’ near Lelystad should be available online. The CEO does not think that the webshop will be at the expense of the outlet center. “Sometimes people really want a day of shopping with all the trimmings. Other times they want to buy something specifically, which can be done online.”
Not everyone is charmed by Batavia Stad
The fact that Batavia Stad is the oldest shopping center in the Netherlands – it was opened in 2001 – is both an advantage and a disadvantage, according to Ambagtsheer. “The advantage is that a lot of people know us. In the early years, everyone wanted to see it.” That is also the disadvantage, because not everyone was charmed by the simulated village with shops of well-known brands.
“Many people think that it is still the same as it was back then, but that is no longer the case. There has been a lot of expansion, the catering industry is and is still improving and more and more luxurious brands are being added.” Now around three million people a year come to Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet, as it is called in full. And the number of visitors is growing, says the CEO. Despite increased competition, such as from the Designer Outlet Center in Roermond and from the Mall of the Netherlands in Leidschendam.
Although it is not an outlet center, it is partly aimed at the same target group: fun shopping people. “Roermond is very far away from Lelystad and therefore not a direct competitor. They are very successful there and I admire them for that. The Mall is closer and competes with us as a day out, just like a day at the beach does.”
Brands want to be everywhere
According to Ambagtsheer, it is not the case that all shopping center violence is at the expense of the normal shopping street. “That’s where Zara’s and Primarks are, we have very different stores.” Yet there are plenty of ‘old-fashioned’ shopping centers that are struggling. “They may not be in the right place,” counters the CEO.
He does not expect that we will have finished shopping at some point, with the current abundance of supply, which now also includes the online outlet. “This is the future: brands want to be present everywhere, in stores, in outlet centers and online.”
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