Nuveen Real Estate opens Florentia Village Chongqing

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Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest real estate investment managers globally, has officially opened Florentia Village Designer Outlet Mall in Chongqing, China in conjunction with RDM Asia, the market-leading manager of luxury Designer Outlet Malls in China.

This latest opening is the seventh Italian-style designer outlet mall opened in Greater China by Silk Road Holdings, for which Nuveen Real Estate acts as investment advisor. The outlet represents the first designer outlet in the city and is also the second in Southwest China for the venture. The Italy-inspired outlet chain has already successfully launched in Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Wuhan and Chengdu.

Officially opened on 3 February 2021, the over 60,000 sq m (c. 646,000 sq ft) property adds to Nuveen Real Estate’s existing global portfolio of designer outlet malls, which also includes 20 centres across Europe. Florentia Village Chongqing was completed with a total investment of over USD 100,000,000 / RMB 178,000,000.

The first phase of the designer outlet mall, which totals around 37,000 sq m (398,000 sq ft), will encompass more than 100 stores, with brands including Furla, Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, Ports, Brooks Brothers, I.T, Tommy Hilfiger, Agatha, GAP, Adidas, Under Armour, New Balance, Puma, Vans, Skechers and Asics.

The property is located a 45-minute drive from downtown Chongqing and the airport and is a 30-minute drive from many major tourist attractions in the region, attracting both local consumers and tourists.

John Sharp-Paul, Fund Manager at Nuveen Real Estate, commented: “Chongqing has long been a location of interest for our China Outlet Malls strategy, given its strong position as a tier 2 city that was also underserved by designer outlet malls. With its wide range of premium brands and excellent location, we believe that Florentia Village Chongqing is well placed to serve the area’s rising middle class, both in the city and from neighbouring locations. We are delighted to have been able to continue our partnership to ensure we are consistently striving to achieve good returns for our investors.”

RDM Asia (part of the Fingen Group of Italy) manages the Florentia Village chain. The company’s expertise in outlet mall management, local market knowledge and strong relationship with international luxury brands will be important in ensuring the growth of the existing assets and successful launch of any pipeline assets.

Despite the pandemic, which led to temporary closures across the portfolio, in 2020, the Florentia Village franchise achieved close to RMB10 billion total sales, with a growth of 7%, attracting 19 million visitors. The owners anticipate that Florentia Village Chongqing will generate RMB500 million in sales and 800,000 visitors in 2021.

Nuveen Real Estate’s China Outlet Malls strategy is part of the firm’s Global Enhanced Series, which applies strategies that work within market cycles, uses a more active asset management and repositioning approach, and/or invests in emerging sectors and locations. These strategies are designed for investors that are looking for an enhanced level of capital growth.