A border crossing survey was conducted by Zsar Outlet Village and the Municipality of Virolahti on the Finnish-Russian border control point Vaalimaa during the New Year 2014-2015. 500 Russian tourists were interviewed about their travel plans, spending, shopping intensions and brand orientation. In 2014, 3 million Russian tourists entered Finland through the Vaalimaa border point, just 500 metres from Zsar Outlet Village, the first premium open plan outlet centre in Finland. The 20,000 m2 centre will open its first phase of 12,000 m2 in 2016. Zsar's catchment area is 8,5 million inhabitants, including the fourth biggest city in Europe, St. Petersburg.

1. Border survey among
Russian tourists
23.01.2015
EU-Russian border
New Year 2014-2015

2. Backround
• A passenger survey was conducted on the EU-
Russian border between 28.12.2014 - 4.1.2015 at
Torfyanovka border control point, Russia
• 500 Russian tourists with passenger cars were
interviewed
• The survey was commissioned by the Municipality
of Virolahti and Zsar Outlet Village
• The survey was conducted by the media and market
research company Makton Media Channels Oy

3. 44.0%
6.6%
14.4%
31.4%
3.6%
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg region
Moscow and Moscow region
Vyborg
Other
Where do You come from?

4. 26.5%
19.1%
17.3%
15.5%
12.0%
7.6% 2.0%
Helsinki region
Border Region
Lapland
Other
Transit through Finland
Kouvola
Lappeenranta
Where do You plan to go in
Finland?

5. Russians tourists buy…
76%
fashion or jewelry
21%
groceries

6. 4.4%
13.9%
9.8%
1.8% 0.8%
68.1%
1.2%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
First time Many times a
month
Once a year 2 times a year 3 times a year Many times a
year
Every 2-3 years
How often do you visit Finland?

7. 8.8%
17.6%
11.8% 12.2% 11.6%
9.2% 10.0%
13.2%
5.4%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
0-200 eur 200-300
eur
400-500
eur
500-600
eur
600-700
eur
700-800
eur
More than
800 eur
More than
1000 eur
More than
2000 eur
How much money do you plan to spend on
Your trip (per person)?

8. Brand orientation
• Russians are very brand oriented,
over 160 different brands were
mentioned when asked
”Name three (3) fashion brands
that you would like to see in an
outlet on the border”

9. Visiting outlets
• 31% have previously been to
an outlet village elsewhere in
Europe
• 89% are willing to go to an
outlet in Vaalimaa

10. 13.80%
24.21%
38.69%
20.59%
2.71%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Once a year 2 times a year 3 times a year 4 times a year 5 times or more a year
How many times would You go to an
outlet in Vaalimaa?

11. Other findings
• 82% of the Russian tourists come from a
200 km radius (including St. Petersburg
area, Vyborg)
• 68% visit Finland several times a year
• 27% of those who enter Finland through
the Vaalimaa border point continue to
Helsinki, 73% continue elsewhere to
Finland or abroad

12. Zsar Outlet Village
• First outlet village in Finland, on the EU-Russian border
• A key location in the midst of massive Russian tourist
flow to and from Finland and EU
• 8.5 million well-off potential customers within a 200 km
radius
• In 2014 9 million border crossings in the vicinity of the
Zsar Outlet Village
• Distance from St. Petersburg 200 km, Helsinki 170 km
• Opening in 2016
• Phase I 12,000 m2
• Estimated sales 6,700 eur per m2 (Ken Gunn, FSP)
zsar.fi