Since La Roca Village opened it has not stopped growing. From 30 stores, 200 employees and one million visitors a year, it has grown to 150 boutiques, 2,000 workers and more than five million visits annually.
It was in June 1998 when the doors of an innovative outlet concept with national and international clothing and accessories brands opened in La Roca del Vallès, with discounts of up to 60% throughout the year. With its opening, Value Retail began a unique business model that, combining retail (the retail sale of an abundant stock), gastronomy and leisure, has contributed to the success of shopping tourism.
Throughout this year, this little town of luxury shops and gastronomy stalls is celebrating. And yesterday it was the turn of the institutional event in which authorities such as the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès; the mayor of Roca del Vallès, Marta Pujol; and the general director of Value Retail Spain, Michael Goldenberg, highlighted the merit of the path taken.
Aragonès, who greeted the head of the opposition in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, who 25 years ago was the mayor of La Roca del Vallès, before the parliaments, highlighted that the three elements that explain the success of this commercial and tourism model have been: “Ambition and thinking big; the commitment to quality of both the product and the service; and the search for prosperity that aims to improve the environment.”
The president toured a part of the outlet and greeted members of the works council and some workers who have been employed at the center since 1998.
For his part, Michael Goldenberg emphasized that "we will continue to support Roca del Vallès, the Vallès Oriental, Barcelona and Catalonia." He thanked all those who 25 years ago "believed in the impossible" and recalled the humble beginnings of a shopping center that has ended up becoming “one of the first tourist destinations in the world.”
Among those who opted for this model two and a half decades ago were, among other representatives, the general director of Punto Blanco, Josep Ignasi Reixach, who was pleased with the bet made then and valued the excellence in the work of the operating company Value. Retail, which estimates the investment it has made since 1998 at 120 million euros.
The mayor of La Roca, Marta Pujol, from Junts, recalled the “tenacious” work of Salvador Illa as mayor of the municipality for the establishment of the project and expressed her commitment to its continuity. In addition, she highlighted the importance of it being an economic engine for the area, since "76% of the workers are from Vallès."
The event ended with the participation of the artist Tvboy, who signed a large 25 that he had made himself. Born in Italy as Salvatore Benintende, he became a graffiti artist as a teenager. His relationship with La Roca Village dates back to 2010, when the then emerging artist and now a reference for 'neo pop street art' made several collaborations.
His drawings, influenced by Banksy, Basquiat, Warhol and Japanese manga, can be seen on the walls of this outdoor shopping and leisure centre. Tvboy was the author of the viral kiss between Messi and Cristiano that dawned in the heart of Barcelona on Sant Jordi's day in 2017.
Within the framework of the 25th Anniversary, La Roca Village will host different initiatives related to its commitment to the tourism and retail sector, and its responsibility to local creative talent. Likewise, it will promote the DO GOOD global Charity and Social Impact Program, whose mission is to improve the future of women and children around the world, focusing on the objective of giving visibility and raising funds for education programs that can reduce the child marriage.
