Gloria Hotel Group (華泰大飯店集團) has teamed up with a US-based developer and operator of outlet centers, The Outlet! Company, to launch the nation’s largest outlet mall in Taoyuan County next year.
The planned Gloria Outlets (華泰名品城) will be built in a commercial area near Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Taoyuan station, which Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) in 2012 won a 50-year leasehold contract for plans to launch a luxury hotel with 300 rooms, an office complex and cinemas, with total investment estimated at NT$20 billion.
Gloria Hotel vice chairman and chief executive John Chen (陳炯福) yesterday said the company plans to invest between NT$4 billion (US$133.16 million) and NT$5 billion in the project.
Chen said the company acquired a building permit for the project in February and aims to start construction next month.
Operation of the outlet mall, which will be able to accommodate 260 tenants, will be carried out in four phases, with the first phase set to commence in August next year.
About 80 percent of phase one, which can house 95 tenants, has been leased out, Chen told a media briefing, adding that international luxury brands Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss and Coach were likely to open shops at the mall.
More than 90 percent of the brands in the outlet mall will be top international brands, while domestic brands will make up the remainder, he said.
Phase two may start operations at the end of next year, while phase three and phase four are likely to start in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
“Phase one is expected to generate sales of NT$3 billion in its first year of operation,” Chen said. “We expect to make NT$10 billion in annual sales once all four phases are in operation.”
The planned mall is expected to offer discounts of between 35 percent and 70 percent on various brands of apparels, accessories and lifestyle products, Gloria Hotel said.
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