OUTLET ALERT: The Bronx Is Probably Going To Get A Designer Outlet Mall ...But What Kind?

Yesterday, the fashion blogs were all abuzz over the possibility of a designer outlet mall opening up right in the Bronx. How great would it be to go outlet shopping without going all the way up to Woodbury Common or out to Long Island? Designer discounts could be just a subway ride away, right?
Sort of.

The New York Times article that sparked all this anticipation focused mainly on how the proposed shopping center would compete with Woodbury Common Premium Outlets mall in Central Valley, New York, about 50 miles out of New York City. Woodbury is the mothership of outlet malls in the region. It might not be comparable to a Bronx upstart being developed by an organization without the kind of experience in this particular subset of retail that other devlopers have, like Simon Property, owner of Woodbury and many other Premium Outlets malls, and Tanger, a similar developer that owns Riverhead and Deer Park among other area centers.

In short, there are outlet malls and there are Outlet Malls, and don't assume that Dior and Prada are in any rush to relocate their discount outlets any closer to the full price selling oasis that is Manhattan. They and other designers have a good thing going at Woodbury, where the store directory reads like the designer roster at Bergdorf's or Barneys. It's close enough for people to get to if they really want to, but not so close that designers will cannibalize their own boutiques or luxury retail partners. The Shophound, in fact, has never been to Woodbury Common (we have really been meaning to go) which is probably just as well, because there's no telling how much money we would spend there if it were less out of the way. Plenty of people do get there, however, and blogs like Madison Avenue Spy enthusiastically chronicle the bargains and alert readers of special deals and the final sales when prices really go down (or sometimes don't).

We probably will get that outlet mall in the Bronx at some point. The amount of publicity generated by the Times story will undoubtedly generate a huge amount of anticipation from the public that will push it through all of the various approvals and authorizations the city requires, but the kind of stores you will probably find there are the ones in hundreds of outlet malls all over the country. You may know them as Factory Stores, and they come from Polo Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, Gap, Ann Taylor, Adidas and a host of other huge brands who fill them with special goods made specifically to sell in outlets. Some, like J.Crew have even started selling online. They are the not-so-secret profit generating divisions of many upscale brands, and often sell merchandise in New York City through off-price stores like Nordstrom Rack and DSW. We wouldn't be surprised if the city got another Rack, or possibly a Saks Off 5th or Neiman Marcus Last Call in the mall, but these sub-chains also deal more in off-price goods than they do in clearance items from their luxurious parents. Anyone who has perused the racks at the end of Saks' consolidation clearances knows that what is left at that point probably isn't worth going out of our way for anyway. Luxury designers typically have far fewer outlets that they cluster at specialized outlet centers like Woodbury and Desert Hills in Cabazon, California. Even Ralph Lauren, a factory store pioneer, has a very few "Collection" outlets where he sells overstock from his premium Black and Purple labels.

Does that mean that this Bronx outlet mall will be a dud? Not at all. It will probably make a fortune and attract huge customer traffic with factory stores, but, unless something dramatic happens, we wouldn't expect the really exclusive designers at Woodbury (and they are all there, Balenciaga, YSL, Zegna, Marni, Brunello Cucinelli, Oscar de la Renta etc.) to show up in the Bronx.

In the Bronx, Plans for an Outlet Mall Offering High Fashion at a Discount (NYTimes)