McArthurGlen

The Customer

Founded in 1993, McArthurGlen Group is a leading developer and manager of designer outlet shopping centres. Headquartered in London, McArthurGlen operates across the UK, Europe, and Canada. Its centres feature a wide range of globally recognised brands, including Hugo Boss, COACH, and Ralph Lauren.

The company’s mission is to redefine destination shopping by offering a premium retail experience that combines high-end brands with exceptional customer service. As a bricks-and-mortar retailer, McArthurGlen’s success is closely tied to maintaining strong footfall and increasing the average spend per visitor.

The Challenge

In an increasingly digital retail environment, McArthurGlen recognised the need to become more data-driven in its operations. The company faced several strategic challenges that required deeper insights into brand performance across its portfolio. Key among these were to:

• Enhance the guest experience.
• Sustain and grow footfall.
• Expand its premium brand offering while maintaining outlet pricing appeal.

However, without a unified view of brand performance across locations, it was difficult to make consistent, data-backed decisions that could drive growth and improve operational efficiency.

The Solution

To address these challenges, McArthurGlen partnered with Hitachi Solutions to implement a Microsoft Dynamics Customer Engagement (CE) Sales solution. This system aggregates sales data from the various brands operating within McArthurGlen’s centres and compiles it into a comprehensive ranking report.

The report provides a clear, consistent view of brand performance across all sites and is reviewed weekly by the business. This regular cadence ensures that decision-makers have timely access to the insights they need to manage brand relationships, optimise the retail mix, and respond quickly to emerging trends.

The Benefits

The implementation of the CE Sales solution has delivered a wide range of tangible business benefits. Firstly, it has enabled McArthurGlen to optimise its brand portfolio management. With reliable performance data at their fingertips, teams can make informed decisions about how to best support brand partners to optimise their performance, as well as which new brands and categories to target. This ensures a balanced and appealing mix for shoppers while delivering success for the group’s stakeholders.

Secondly, the solution provides location-specific performance insights, allowing strategies to be tailored to the unique characteristics and customer behaviours of each centre. This supports more effective local decision-making and enhances the overall guest experience.

Additionally, the insights generated by the solution empower marketing and event planning teams to design more targeted and impactful campaigns. By understanding which brands and categories perform best at each location, teams can align promotional efforts with customer preferences and seasonal trends. The standardised reporting framework ensures that all stakeholders across the business are working from the same accurate and up-to-date information, reducing ambiguity and improving collaboration.

Perhaps most importantly, the CE Sales solution supports McArthurGlen’s long-term growth strategy. With robust performance analytics, decision-makers can confidently evaluate opportunities for expansion, whether through the development of existing sites or the launch of new centres. The ability to back these decisions with data reduces risk and increases the likelihood of successful outcomes.

The Future

Looking ahead, McArthurGlen and Hitachi Solutions are continuing their collaboration to further enhance the company’s data capabilities. Since the initial implementation, McArthurGlen has worked with Hitachi’s support services team to assess the impact of the Microsoft release waves and to introduce telemetry and monitoring tools. These enhancements ensure ongoing data accuracy and minimise the risk of system failures, reinforcing the reliability of the solution.

The future partnership objectives include refining the data strategy, exploring new analytics capabilities, and unlocking even greater value from the insights generated.