Salzburg Designer Outlet

McArthurGlen Group opened the Designer Outlet Salzburg on September 10, 2009, in Wals-Himmelreich just outside the city, growing out of the site of a former shopping center, the Airportcenter, that had closed following a legal dispute with its last remaining tenant. The project had been contested locally since 2004, drawing resistance from Salzburg’s inner-city retailers before groundbreaking finally took place on June 12, 2007.

At roughly 28,000 sqm, the outlet carries around 100 stores offering 200-plus designer brands at up to 70 percent off standard retail prices, positioned as one of McArthurGlen’s flagship Austrian properties. Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Diesel and Desigual anchor the fashion and luxury floor, with Adidas and Puma carrying sportswear.

The property has weathered real operational disruptions in its history: a COVID-related closure in March 2020 shortly after new center director Markus Gratz took over, reopening under strict hygiene rules in May 2020, and a fire on May 2, 2024 that caused roughly €2 million in damage. More than 850 people were employed at the outlet as of 2020.

That “Airportcenter to McArthurGlen outlet” transformation, built on a site whose previous retail concept had already failed and closed, reflects how McArthurGlen’s outlet format proved a genuinely more durable use for the location than the conventional shopping center it replaced, aided by direct access from Salzburg Airport and connections to the A1, A8 and A10 motorways.