Outlet mall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An outlet mall (or outlet centre) is a type of shopping mall, in which manufacturers sell their products directly to the public through their own branded stores. Other stores in outlet malls are operated by retailers selling returned goods and discontinued products, often at heavily reduced prices. Clothing, sporting goods, electrical products, cosmetics, and toys are among the types of items sold at outlet malls.
Outlet malls first appeared in the United States as a development of the traditional factory outlet: a store attached to a factory or warehouse, selling surplus stock at discounted prices. An outlet mall places several such outlets under one roof in a convenient location, usually an "out-of-town" site. The out-of-town site minimises overhead costs. And they may be legally necessary as conventional retailers may have contractual restrictions on the manufacturer on the location of the factory outlets so as to minimise competition with the traditional retailer. Therefore, factory outlets are usually located at least 20 kilometers outside of major cities, and consumers must account for gasoline costs and driving time when calculating their net savings.
Outlet malls have since spread to the European Union and to many other parts of the world. During the early 1990s, the UK company McArthur Glen opened the first outlet malls in UK(Cheshire Oaks) and France (Troyes) in 1995, and since 2000s Italy (Alessandria, Rome and Florence) and Portugal (Lisbon).
The expansion of outlet malls has reached Asia. With Chelsea Premium Outlets in at least 4 Japanese locations. China and Hong Kong are catching up. Hong Kong's 1st outlet mall, Citygate Outlets, is located in Tung Chung, Lantau.
