Outlet Shopping At Dress-Smart Te Rapa Opens

A fourth multi-million dollar Dress-Smart outlet shopping centre opened yesterday in Te Rapa, Hamilton to great acclaim.

The 4,500m2 Dress-Smart Te Rapa centre features 36 retail stores under one roof and is part of The Base – a joint venture development between The Warehouse Group and Tainui Group Holdings.

With a strong fashion focus, Dress-Smart Te Rapa is home to some of New Zealand’s most popular clothing brands for men, women and children. There is also a large range of domestic and international labels in various categories including high end and casual clothing, accessories, gifts and personal care. The strong tenant mix includes premier brands such as Trelise Cooper, Bendon, Pumpkin Patch, Barkers, Stevens Gifts, Hero, Working Style, Hartleys, MacKenzie Country, Satori, Fila, Walker and Hall Jewellers, Overland Shoes, HouseHold Linens, Mellencamp Carrywear and Max Fashions.

In an early morning ceremony, members of Tainui together with invited guests and dignitaries gathered to listen to Kaumatua bless the site and to addresses from owners, Prime Retail and the Hamilton Mayor, Michael Redman.

The ribbon was cut by 11 year old Nga Wai Hono I Te Po Paki, the 13th grandchild of the Maori Queen Te Arikinui, Dame Te Atairangikahu.

In his speech, Mayor Michael Redman congratulated Prime Retail for their vision in chosing to locate Dress-Smart in Te Rapa and acknowledged the creation of more than 100 new jobs.

Prime Retail Director and Chief Executive, Mark Schiele says the location was chosen carefully based on superior catchment statistics and demographics.

“We believe that Hamilton is a vibrant and go-ahead city. And, we are very impressed with the Te Rapa site, which is unsurpassed in terms of accessibility and visibility. There has already been plenty of community backing and unprecedented retail demand to become part of Dress-Smart Te Rapa, which also clearly supports our choice.

“Outlet shopping has proven incredibly popular since we opened New Zealand’s first outlet centre, Dress-Smart Onehunga, in 1995. Research has indicated that many Waikato shoppers regularly visit that centre and we are confident that they will be well-pleased to have their own Dress-Smart centre close by,” Mr Schiele said.

Dress-Smart is New Zealand’s premier outlet shopping centre brand offering shoppers a wide range of big brand merchandise at significantly reduced prices. Dress-Smart already has highly successful centres in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Dress-Smart Te Rapa is open seven days from 10am to 5pm and is located at The Base on the corner of Avalon Drive and Te Rapa Road.

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