Factory Outlets Key Terms

Some key terms for factory outlets

By J. Stoltzfus, writer/programmer, LOCAL CITIZEN

For a lot of businesses that want to ship goods direct to an easy sales venue, factory outlets are a prime opportunity. Other businesses consider factory outlets when they want to place a location in a "concession" role, such as a restaurant franchise. All kinds of businesses with a stake in factory outlet sales can learn more about some of the basic key terms for the industry to maximize profits from an outlet related venture.

Shopping mall and outdoor mall

Factory outlets stores tend to use an outdoor mall setup. A shopping mall is defined as an area for pedestrian shoppers. The outdoor mall is a mall area where the space between the stores is not enclosed hallways, but open sidewalks. However, most of the mall area is often closed to vehicles.
Try: See more on the definition of a shopping mall at the Free Dictionary.

Brand name designers

Who has stores in factory outlets? Well, a lot of brand name designers do. Brand name designers are the companies that create much of the fashion apparel that shoppers are used to seeing on store shelves.
Try: Get a list of brand name designers with outlet stores at Prime Outlets.

Factory direct discount

Lots of outlet malls offer shoppers factory direct discounts, but some vagueness about these discounts means it can be difficult to figure out whether the factory direct deal is legitimate. The difference has to do with whether the manufacturer is outsourcing the goods to a retailer for markup in the factory outlet or not.
Try: See more on factory direct discounts at WiseGeek.

Refurbished items

Another way that factory outlets profess to offer the consumer bargains is through offering refurbished products at their factory outlet stores. Refurbished products are products that have been sent back to the factory due to defects and re-conditioned back to the original specifications. Though some shoppers avoid refurbished products, others swear by them.
Try: Find out more about refurbished goods including electronics at Consumer Reports.

Publicly traded factory outlets

Though many factory outlets are just venues for sales, some of the larger factory outlet businesses are publicly traded. Tanger Outlets is a publicly traded factory outlet mall business that many businesses are keeping an eye on.
Try: Read more on Tanger Outlets as a publicly traded factory outlet mall business at StreetInsider.

Online factory outlet directories

Some websites have developed specifically in order to get readers access to news about factory outlet mall locations and other info for shopping. Businesses can make use of these info sites to check for factory outlet malls in a given area.
Try: For an example of an extensive factory outlet mall site, check out Outlet Bound.