Word: outlet
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Upscale discount megamalls were perhaps inevitable, given these cash-poor yet image-conscious times. Since 1978 the industry has mushroomed from just seven outlet centers to more than 280, with gross sales estimated at as high as $18 billion. Last year sales for outlets and off-price stores rose 10% to 12%, about double the rate of increase at ordinary retail stores...
...perfume at $17.95 instead of the usual $32. More than 1.5 million shoppers , have done so since Sawgrass opened its doors in October. "Everybody is looking for bargains these days," says William Cohen, 36, waving a pair of jeans selling at $30 -- half-price -- at the jammed Guess? outlet...
Many of the most popular direct-from-the-factory establishments are individual stores, such as the L.L. Bean outlet in North Conway, N.H., or the V F Factory Outlet in Reading, Pa. But hundreds of outlet centers, ranging from spartan shopping strips to swank malls, now cater to tourists and travelers. Many are sited just off major interstate highways or close to vacation spots. "For these prices, I don't mind fighting the freeway," exults Houston housewife Laura Freeman, two small kids in tow, as she balances a mound of towels selling for $2.99 a pound at the Lone Star...
...suburban Virginia and Franklin Mills on the fringes of Philadelphia. Each attracts 1 million bargain-hunting shoppers a month. "Western is doing something daring and truly different, gambling that this might be the future of malls in America," says Terry Dunham, publisher of Value Retail News, which tracks the outlet industry from Clearwater, Fla. Western has plans for four more discount malls: near Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Ontario, Calif. Not to be outdone, Benderson Development Co., Western's main rival in megamall retailing, is building what it touts as "the largest manufacturers' mall in the universe" near Niagara Falls...
Many of the already battered retailers are howling about the growth of cut- rate competitors, who happen to include a number of their own suppliers. The 2,500 firms belonging to the National Shoe Retailers Association went on record against the proliferation of manufacturers' outlets; some are boycotting brands that have opened their own shops. "It's impossible to compete against them," complains association president William Boettge. For small stores, outlets are "making a tough business all the tougher," says John Cox, a recently retired shoe-shop owner in Lawrence, Kans., who saw his business drop more than 15% after...