Tbilisi Outlet Village officially launches ahead of 2022 opening

Tbilisi Outlet Village, a 20,000 square metre GLA development near the capital of Georgia, which will mark the first outlet at the crossroads for Europe and Asia, has officially launched.

The outlet is being developed by Georgian Outlets and Resort Group in collaboration with Torg, The Outlet Resource Group, and is officially being launched this week at Mapic Digital. Construction is scheduled to start before the end of the year with an opening of Phase 1, making up 12,500 square metres and 70 units, planned to open in spring 2022. Currently, the outlet is 30 percent let.

Tbilisi is dubbed the fashion capital of Eastern Europe, according to the developers, and the outlet is expected to bring together international and Georgian brands to one shopping village.

With its strategic location south-east of the capital, the outlet will benefit from a strong catchment made up of Tbilisi’s 1.4 million population and a significant number of cross border travellers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and Turkey. Tbilisi Outlet Village is expected to attract more than 7 million visitors in its first three years alone.

Guram Tsanava, founding partner and chief executive of Georgian Outlets and Resort Group, said in a statement: “We are proud to be launching the very first outlet village in this region. Since we started talking to a select group of distributors here in Georgia this summer, reactions have been fantastic – we already have 30 percent of GLA pre-leased with plenty more exciting brands in the pipeline.

“Not only do we have a great location on one of the major motorway axes in Georgia, but we also have a highly-skilled international team consisting of the leading professionals in the field and bringing the best of outlet expertise to our region.”

Tbilisi Outlet Village to open in spring 2022

Robert van den Heuvel, leasing director and partner at Torg Europe, added: “We have leased many schemes over the years, but we have rarely seen such an overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic response within such a short amount of time. Tbilisi is definitely ready for an outlet – we know this from a series of surveys conducted in February this year, where the outlet concept received a 9 out of 10 rating.

“We already knew that Georgia is the next logical extension of Europe, but now we also have the confirmation from all of the major distributors in Georgia and many of their head office structures, which are keen on joining. This includes brands that are not yet present in the country, but that have expressed interest in entering the market via Tbilisi Outlet Village.”

Architecturally, Tbilisi Outlet Village will be a fusion between tradition and modernity, designed by architectural firm L35, who are known for the successful La Roca and Las Rozas outlet villages in Spain. They have designed Tbilisi Outlet Village as a re-interpretation of the Georgian capital’s traditional facades, courtyards and urban passages combined with iconic contemporary shopfronts.

Javier Framis, senior partner and architect at L35, said: “We are delighted to lead the design for Tbilisi Outlet Village, which will be a homage to the beauty of the Georgian capital. We were stunned when we first travelled to Tbilisi in 2019 and strolled through the city’s neighbourhoods and old town, and we have picked up many of its characteristic elements in our design.”

Images: courtesy of Tbilisi Outlet Village