Woodbury Common’s makeover is complete
The Italian shoe and handbag retailer Baldinini takes its place among the 240 other hallowed brands at Woodbury Common in Central Valley, New York, this month, but that’s just the punctuation mark on the story of the transformation of Simon Premium Outlets’ star property.
Not that Woodbury was much in need of transforming. The center’s true market radius is a global one (its visitor center staff speaks 14 languages), and even competitors hail it as the crown jewel of outlet centers. But Simon just put the finishing touches on a three-year recasting of the property that included new store exteriors, a three-level parking garage, and a new ring road to eliminate grid-lock (often exacerbated by the many buses that carry customers to the off-price merchandise mecca).
“We have a mission — value, fashion, and experience. Every decision we make as a company is influenced by that, and I don’t think it plays out any more clearly than it does at Woodbury,” Simon Premium Outlets CEO Stephen Yalof told Chain Store Age when asked why the company would invest so much in a proven winner.
The frontispiece of the new Woodbury is the 65,000-sq.-ft. Market Hall, a central gathering place and food hall that supplanted the center’s old offices. And though it offers up new food options from the likes of Chipotle, Pinkberry, and Pret a Manger, its ample seating areas and wi-fi service give it the feel of an expansive hotel lobby. Four entrances point visitors in the directions of its new New York-themed districts: the Adirondacks, the Hamptons, Saratoga, Niagara, and the center’s native Hudson Valley.
“The idea for the five different areas evolved through our partnership with the local municipality. We worked closely with them to help create a feeling for our regular local customers that this was a New York property,” Yalof said. “The design inspiration for the Market Hall came from Covent Garden.”
Six retailers remodeled their store interiors as part of the renovation: Bally, Givenchy, Dunhill, Furla, Thomas Pink, and Theory Women’s.
Not that Woodbury was much in need of transforming. The center’s true market radius is a global one (its visitor center staff speaks 14 languages), and even competitors hail it as the crown jewel of outlet centers. But Simon just put the finishing touches on a three-year recasting of the property that included new store exteriors, a three-level parking garage, and a new ring road to eliminate grid-lock (often exacerbated by the many buses that carry customers to the off-price merchandise mecca).
“We have a mission — value, fashion, and experience. Every decision we make as a company is influenced by that, and I don’t think it plays out any more clearly than it does at Woodbury,” Simon Premium Outlets CEO Stephen Yalof told Chain Store Age when asked why the company would invest so much in a proven winner.
The frontispiece of the new Woodbury is the 65,000-sq.-ft. Market Hall, a central gathering place and food hall that supplanted the center’s old offices. And though it offers up new food options from the likes of Chipotle, Pinkberry, and Pret a Manger, its ample seating areas and wi-fi service give it the feel of an expansive hotel lobby. Four entrances point visitors in the directions of its new New York-themed districts: the Adirondacks, the Hamptons, Saratoga, Niagara, and the center’s native Hudson Valley.
“The idea for the five different areas evolved through our partnership with the local municipality. We worked closely with them to help create a feeling for our regular local customers that this was a New York property,” Yalof said. “The design inspiration for the Market Hall came from Covent Garden.”
Six retailers remodeled their store interiors as part of the renovation: Bally, Givenchy, Dunhill, Furla, Thomas Pink, and Theory Women’s.
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