Branded clothing with a high discount, as from today you can go to a new outlet center near Amsterdam. It is already the sixth outlet in our country (or just across the border). Is there a need for another outlet like this? And what about the quality of products in such a center?
The new outlet center is called The Style Outlets and is located in Halfweg, half an hour from Amsterdam. Other outlet centers in our country can already be found in Lelystad, Roosendaal and Roermond. Just across the border you can go to Maasmechelen (Belgium) or Ochtrup (Germany). And such a center is also planned in Zevenaar.
Director Marcel Herder thinks there is a need for this too. He also thinks that outlet centers do not draw life from nearby inner cities. “It is complementary, they are different products, so people also like to go to the city center.”
Old collections, nice selection
According to Herder, the quality of the clothing sold in outlet centers is certainly no worse than in normal stores. “They are products that have been on sale, they are old collections. You have a nice selection, it is well selected and absolutely no inferior in quality.”
High discounts are available in the outlet center, up to 70 percent according to the director. “But people also come for that shopping experience.”
Experience
It is these discounts that make outlet centers so popular, thinks retail expert Kitty Koelemeijer. “Outlet centers, of course, offer the opportunity to buy branded items at discounted prices all year round. Many people find it important to wear designer clothes and not pay the highest price,” she says.
She also says that amenity value plays a role. “They are entire villages, where you normally also have plenty of choice of catering and even entertainment. For example, in the Designer Outlet in Roermond there is a Ferris wheel and carousel for children. And those outlet centers also look beautiful.”
According to Koelemeijer, some old collections are in outlet centers, and special collections are also produced. “Outlet stores usually sell some branded clothing that requires less work. They are more basic items, with less striking details and perhaps also produced with slightly cheaper fabrics.”
These products can then be sold cheaper in an outlet center, because the production costs are lower than with regular production. But director Marcel Herder of The Style Outlets denies that story.
Image
The quality is not bad, according to the retail expert. “Brands are very careful not to damage their brand by selling poor quality clothing in the outlet. If you start selling junk there, it will damage your image. So they pay attention to that, and that does not happen. ”
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