VIA Outlets is looking for locations in Spain with an investment of 30M€ to expand premium fashion in Seville.

With the upcoming Grammy Latinos Awards ceremony in the Andalusian capital, David Kerwin de Lettenhove, business director of VIA Outlets Spain, jokingly states that they are not opening specifically for the event. However, he concedes that the movement has the perfect timing to offer their customers premium branded goods at bargain prices.

The aim of Sevilla Fashion Outlet, is to create a 19,700 square meter luxury complex just a few kilometers from the city's airport. The renovation, which cost 30 million euros, is being completed this week. The result is a true paradise for fashion victims, not only thanks to the large number of stores - up to 80 national and international brands - but also''Because it offers options previously unavailable in the region, such as the Karl Lagerfeld store, which is exclusive to western Andalusia, as well as new products from Nike, Under Armour and Columbia, which have chosen this region for their operating base in the south. They promise to offer merchandise at discounts of up to 60% off the original price all year round.

And speak multiple languages if needed; the goal of VIA Outlets, a company created in 2014 and owned by Dutch financial active management company APG, is to collaborate with tourism to convince visitors to go shopping. Or shoppers to visit Seville. It's a business model that works for them and that they want to spread in our country, says Kerwin de Lettenhove in an interview with EL''The pandemic has changed a lot of things, but in every crisis we see that the outlet sector is extremely resilient, so it suffers less than other industries. And it's the safest bet. Is it safer because it's an outlet or because it's a premium outlet and its customers tend to suffer less? Let's not be fooled. The outlet formula is obviously focused on price, but if you add a brand component, that price becomes more attractive. We make it easier to access the world of premium brands at a more attractive price, and that's a rational formula. Then we add the emotional component, the shopping experience. We want our locations to be more than just an economic transaction. We really emphasize that experience and the relationship between VIA''Outlets and tourism. Who leads who? We go hand in hand. We always focus on the tourism and transportation component when choosing a location. But the tourist doesn't come alone. He has to be offered a range of services, and VIA Outlets knows the necessary components very well thanks to its experience. We have a great example: customer service in another language, VAT refunds, concierge service for luggage...

The center's exterior. VIA Outlets How do you attract tourists? We don't look for tourists in their country of origin, we reach them here. We use the most obvious channels: hotels, car rentals, sometimes tourist spots. In a city like Seville, it's not difficult. We also do it online, so that from the moment they arrive they receive messages from our center. We don't differentiate between communication between tourists and locals. If it happens, it's only online, and we differ in terms of language level.

The arrival of Karl Lagerfeld with an exclusive store for West Andalusia, a Nike store that is a benchmark in southern Spain... how do you achieve such''exclusive agreements with brands? In Spain, most brands have a local presence. And this relationship is built on collaboration. We always talk about partnership. We understand the brands' needs, we know how to communicate with them, and they see this as an important added value. We don't just forget about them once we get the rent; we go hand in hand, even in the economic agreement we make with them, to make sure they're doing as well as possible. We help them attract more customers, provide better visibility, better store management, we help in all operational aspects, and that makes us very different from other market players, makes it so that they increasingly choose us. In fact, we're seeing that brands,'''thanks to the trust established, are growing in our portfolio.