Turkey surpasses European countries with its investments in outlet centers, in which manufacturers sell their products directly to the public through their own stores.

Turkey ranks second among European countries right after the United Kingdom, with 19 outlet centers with 382,781 square meters leasable area. In the U.K. there are some 29 outlet centers with 474,881 square meters leasable area. Italy ranks third with 12 outlet centers, while France ranks fourth with 11.

Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding, Carrefour's partner in Turkey, is seeking to double sales in its retail business to YTL 7 billion ($5.5 billion) by the end of 2010, according to the head of Sabancı's retail group. Sabancı is planning to invest YTL 600 million in its retail businesses, including its supermarket chain with Carrefour, its low-cost grocery chain with Spain's Dia and its electronics store TeknoSA by 2010, Haluk Dinçer told reporters in Istanbul Friday.

All of the newly created public spaces will have tree planting, seating, and opportunities for public art and access to public conveniences. It creates 1,500 new jobs. Forum Çamlik is expected to attract over 7 million visitors each year. Given its wide retail offer and entertainment facilities, the center will be a very important shopping destination and attract visitors from Denizli and the neighboring cities. Multi Turkmall is the developer and Multi Investment is the owner of the project.

The shopping center stock in Turkey is set to increase by around 60%* over the next two years according to the latest Turkish Retail Market Report from Jones Lang LaSalle and Alkas Consulting. The shopping center market in Turkey has seen significant development in the last two years; the number of centers has increased by 33 since the beginning of 2007 and totalled 188 in February 2008. An additional 66 centers are currently under construction and a total of 84 are planned.

Ece Group, that has invested approximately 1 billion USD over the last 8 years in Turkish shopping center industry, has started the construction of Marmara Park Shopping Center in Beylikduzu. Marmara Park is being built on the plot in Beylikduzu where Tatilya - a well-known entertainment park - used to be located. The shopping center projected to be completed by 2010 will also be home to a German home electronics retail chain entering the Turkish market for the first time. The center will have 100,000 square meters of leaseable space and is expected to attract 1 million visitors per year.

The Şirehan Shopping Complex, constructed by the Rönesans Shopping Centers Investment Group, one of the world's leading construction companies, with an investment of $18 million, opened last Friday.

Kochloffel, a leading German roasted chicken oriented fast-food chain decided to enter the Turkish market due to extensive demand from Turks living in Germany. Wolfgang Kaiser, the president of Kochloffel, announced that the first store in Turkey will opened by this summer.

CHICAGO-Jones Lang LaSalle, based here, has formed partnerships to bring its retail operations to a higher level in Asia, Turkey and the Philippines. While the US economy stagnates, foreign markets are heating up, and company officials say the firm wants to capitalize on this trend.