FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Keith Britt
Thompson & Co.
901/527-8000
or Andrew J. Groveman
Belz Enterprises
901/260-7278

RECORD 31.3 MILLION SHOPPERS VISITED
BELZ FACTORY OUTLET MALLS IN 1997

* * * *

Chain, Led By Las Vegas and Orlando Centers,
Growing As National Tourist Attraction;
Last Year’s Total Attendance Up By 9.1% 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Continuing to grow as one of America’s premiere tourist attractions, Belz Factory Outlet Malls reports that an all-time record 31.3 million shoppers visited its five U.S. locations last year, an increase of 9.1% over 1996 attendance figures.

Commenting on figures from its just released Year-End 1997 Shoppers Index, which monitors traffic at its outlet centers in Orlando, Las Vegas, Pigeon Forge (outside Knoxville) and Lakeland (outside Memphis), Andrew J. Groveman, president of Belz Enterprises’ Factory Outlet Division, attributed his properties’ broadening appeal to a variety of factors – its strategic locations and diverse retail tenancies; an improving national economy; and most important, the "unrelenting desire of consumers to shop for quality goods at bargain prices."

That universal passion was particularly in evidence in Las Vegas where 6,567,104 shoppers – a dramatic 34% increase over the previous year – visited Belz Factory Outlet World on Las Vegas Boulevard, just off the legendary strip, in 1997. With over 140 famous name manufacturers now occupying over 625,000 square feet of retail space, the center is today the largest outlet mall under one roof in the United States.

The biggest factory outlet complex of them all, the 170-tenant, 700,000 square foot Belz Factory Outlet World in Orlando, and its neighboring 200,000 square foot Belz Designer Outlet Center, attracted a combined total of 14,607,219 visitors in 1997, a 2.6% increase over the previous year. Both properties, situated within a block of each other, are located in the heart of the International Drive and Universal Studios tourist area.

Tennessee’s largest factory outlet center, Belz Factory Outlet World in Pigeon Forge, enjoyed a 5% increase in traffic last year, with 7,622,080 people visiting the center’s 85 outlets.

And finally, the grand-daddy of all factory malls, Belz Factory Outlet World in Lakeland, attracted 2,540,435 shoppers last year, a 15.8% increase over 1996 figures. The center, generally recognized as the first of its kind in the United States, opened in 1979.

A pioneer and industry leader in the development and management of factory outlet malls, Belz currently has two new Belz Factory World projects in advanced planning in St. Augustine, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Headquartered in Memphis, Belz Enterprises is a multi-faceted real estate company whose diversified portfolio of more than 25 million square feet includes 40 shopping complexes, ranging from community shopping centers to regional malls; industrial/warehouse/distribution facilities and developments; office parks and corporate campuses; residential developments; and hotels like The Peabody Hotels in Memphis and Orlando.

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BELZ SHOPPERS INDEX

Year-End 1997 

(Year-to-Year Attendance Comparisons
at Belz Factory Outlet Malls Nationwide)

Total
Visitors
’97
Total
Visitors
’96
%
Change
ORLANDO, FL
Belz Factory Outlet Mall 10,902,349 11,115,050
Belz Designer Outlet Center 3,704,870 3,119,190
14,607,219 14,234,240 +2.6%
 LAS VEGAS, NV 
Belz Factory Outlet Mall 6,567,104 4,902,922 +34%
 LAKELAND, TN 
Belz Factory Outlet Mall 2,540,435 2,194,416 +15.8%
 PIGEON FORGE, TN 
Belz Factory Outlet Mall 7,622,080 7,237,398 +5%
_________ _________ ____
Totals 31,336,838 28,568,976 +9.1%

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