Since 2012, the Designer Outlet Soltau with its unique brand mix and half-timbered heath houses has stood for premium shopping in a charming atmosphere and attracts fashion enthusiasts to the region. Reason enough to celebrate the tenth anniversary in a fitting way: from 1st to 24th September 2022, visitors can benefit from exclusive offers as part of the “Happy Birthday Weeks” in the Outlet Village and enjoy live music with artists such as Maciek “QUBA”, Till Seifert, Paul Brunner or Kroner. Culinary variety is also provided by various food trucks with delicious specialities during the weekends, in addition to the already existing F&B offerings in the outlet. The extended birthday party will be suitable for family outings thanks to face painting, a game world presented by Ravensburger and Sigikid and many other activities for the young guests.
“Especially now, in times when many people are worried, we want to bring joy to our customers with this celebration,” says Centre Manager Christian Antholz. “And of course we want to celebrate the successful development of the Designer Outlet Soltau. Anyone who regularly visits us knows that there have been many innovations here over the last ten years. This includes new brand partners as well as the expansion of our services, most recently, for example, through the installation of 20 Tesla charging stations for e-cars, with which we consistently continue our sustainability approach”.
A paradise for brand lovers
Perfectly situated between Hamburg, Hannover and Bremen, the Designer Outlet Soltau currently houses 60 shops with over 80 designer, fashion and lifestyle brands, including Nike, Puma, Gant, Marc O’Polo, Joop and Strellson. An exciting newcomer is Guess: the American brand opened its store on 30th July and has been thrilling customers ever since with an innovative shop design concept and an extensive women’s, men’s and children’s collection.
The fact that the Outlet Village in Lüneburger Heide has been able to develop into such a brand magnet is no coincidence. In 2020 and 2021, the Designer Outlet Soltau, managed by the Austrian operator ROS Retail Outlet Shopping, was recognized as “Europe’s Best Boutique Outlet Centre” in Ecostra’s annual Outlet Centre Performance Report, a consultancy specialising in commercial real estate development with a focus on retail location development. This report is considered the benchmark for the European outlet industry.
A valuable partner in the region
However, the significance of the Outlet Village goes far beyond shopping pleasure. More than 500 people have found jobs here. In addition, the Designer Outlet Soltau is a long-standing partner of more than 370 accommodation facilities and leisure facilities such as Heide Park, Serengeti Park, Weltvogel Park Walsrode and Abenteuerland Bispingen as well as various rehabilitation facilities such as MediClin.
Olaf Klang, Mayor of Soltau, also appreciates this: “The Designer Outlet Soltau has proven to be a positive contributor to the region over the last ten years and we are pleased to support the project and continue to work together to make it more attractive for tourism and increase the purchasing power in the community.”
The will to give something back to the region is firmly anchored in the Designer Outlet Soltau’s mission statement, Antholz affirms: “At the moment, we support the Soltauer Tafel as part of the Happy Birthday Weeks, but we are also, for example, the main sponsor of the Heide Cup in Schneverdingen, and have been for years.”
Future plans: further growth and attracting even more visitors
Looking ahead, the Designer Outlet Soltau remains committed to further growth with efforts being made for a centre extension by almost 50 percent. Should the plans succeed, 250 additional jobs would be created in the outlet centre. At the same time, such an expansion would attract more premium brands to the centre, which only move in after reaching a certain size.
Tourism is also likely to benefit from this development. Experts from ift Freizeit- und Tourismusberatung GmbH predict an increase of almost 30 per cent in the number of visitors to the centre if the expansion is approved, with many of the visitors likely to combine their visit with an overnight stay in the region or a trip to another local attraction. “The expansion of the Designer Outlet Soltau is eagerly awaited by brand partners, the community and especially by the tourists who travel long distances,” says Antholz. Especially in the face of the rise of e-commerce, we – the stationary retail as a whole – have to offer the best possible physical shopping experience. We would like to play our part in this. At the same time, we can also provide the Lüneburg Heath, which is already growing successfully as a tourist region.”
Sylvie Mutschler, investor of the Designer Outlet Soltau, added: “We have been keen to expand the outlet for a long time and hope that the ongoing procedures will end positively for the city, our customers and brand partners. We have long worked to make the Designer Outlet Soltau what it is today: a place where customers come from near and far. We are very proud of this and want to celebrate it with the Happy Birthday Weeks.”
