Nike has signed up to open its first outlet store in Northern Ireland, at the Gilford Mill outlet scheme. The sports brand will take an 835 sq m unit in a prominent position in the£30 million development, and is the scheme's first anchor.
Nike said it selected the site because it needed a location south of Belfast that could serve both Northern Ireland and the Republic north of Dublin. It already trades from an outlet store in Killarney, serving the south.
Brendon O'Reilly, partner at GVA Collyer Coxhead, joint letting agent with Markham Vaughan Gillingham, said: 'Our research shows that Northern Ireland has a young, brand-aware, aspirational population that is familiar with the concept of factory outlet shopping.
'Many people go over to Cheshire Oaks and Bicester. There is huge pent-up demand for brands and value in Northern Ireland. Nike is a perfect brand for this population.'
According to Gilford Mill developer John Farmer, about 40 per cent of the 15,000 sq m scheme is in solicitors' hands, with serious interest expressed in another 20 per cent.
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