The outlets in Mississippi, USA are one of the largest factory stores in the United States。

“I want to give gifts when I return home，Let’s go to Woodbury Outlets。”

This is a tourist item that many Chinese friends must have when they come to New York。Just like when I first moved to the United States in the 1990s，I was taken to two places by friends who came early to see the face of capitalism: one is Atlantic City，The other one is this place called outlets。I really thought outlets was a place name at that time，Later I found out that it is actually a business model，My friend explained it as "Factory Direct Sales Store"，Things are the same as those on Manhattan Island，The price is much cheaper。This sounds exciting，It’s very pleasant to stroll around。

Such stores are usually not far from the highway，Convenient transportation，Or in the valley，Or on a gentle slope，Fresh air，Open terrain，Houses with uniform styles like villas are arranged staggeredly，Strung from it by the pedestrian street，Like a beautiful town。

Going to outlets to buy gifts is of course the easiest way to make everyone happy。Especially after the new century，Big European brands that are sought after all over the world are flocking in，A day trip to outlets always ends with my hands full of 188bet sports betting app download large and small shopping bags with all kinds of big logos printed on them，Already drowsy from exhaustion and excitement on the way back in the car，I still want to give these gifts to my friends to put a smile on their faces，I will immediately be happy that I only paid half of the money of Wudaodao。

188bet sports betting app download Businessmen are also happy，Because the average one-way distance between stores and towns is usually 30 to 80 miles，It takes at least 54 minutes to drive (it is said to be scientifically calculated)，So they encounter these every dayIt’s so easy to come here、How can a tourist be content without buying something，No need to worry about trouble yet，Because even if they are not satisfied, they probably won’t come back to return or exchange the goods。

First trip to outlets，I bought a khaki Polo jacket，Sold for over $50，At least half the price of the same jacket at the Ralph Lauren flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan。Although I was still a poor student at that time，But I can’t help but be tempted when I see such a good deal。

Just bought that jacket home，I hesitated again，So I took it to the regular store on Fifth Avenue to return it。Unthinkable，The customer service staff looked at it but said they couldn’t return it: “You bought it at an outlet, right??”I was very surprised by his eyesight，He hesitated again and again，As if he doesn’t want to hurt my self-esteem，But he still took a jacket from the store and explained to me: "You will know by comparing them，The jackets and outlets here are different after all。”Yes?I asked half-confusedly，Are outlets not as advertised，Selling the same things as regular stores，Just because there is a missing middle link，The price has just dropped?

I quickly got the answer to this question from the reverse direction after I started working。The first company I worked for was supported by Maidenform, an underwear brand with a history of hundreds of years，The most important order is 188bet online sports betting cotton embroidered pajamas。After the first season，I searched all the department stores on the island but couldn’t find my design。Just ask the boss to find out，It turns out that our pajamas are only sold at Maidenform outlets，That is to say，Won’t appear in regular stores at all。What Outlets sells is really not “factory direct sales”。

A few years later，I joined a company that provides design and production for a lingerie designer brand in New York。The collaborative projects this designer often brings are designs customized for Saks Fifth Avenue outlets。

She usually has the following requirements for this set of designs: they must echo the designs she sells to Saks Fifth Avenue department store，That is, from color to material, it is recognizable as the brand of the season，But it can’t be exactly the same；More important，The retail price is cheaper。In short，She hopes that customers in outlets can recognize her brand，It can also stimulate the desire to buy because of the low price。

It turns out that this is the truth about outlets。It has a purchasing process that is parallel to that of regular stores，It has nothing to do with "direct selling"，Therefore，When I saw some influential Chinese websites defining it as "in retail business, it specifically refers to the sales of famous brands out of season、Removed、A shopping mall composed of stores with broken products，Therefore also known as ‘Brand Direct Shopping Mall’”，I know this is not true。Although occasionally a small amount of off-stock products from regular stores are sold，For example, I once found a Ralph Lauren purple label leather jacket at one-eighth the price，But itsMost of the goods on the shelves are purchased by buyers through independent supply channels，Purchased according to outlet standards。

To put it more bluntly: a big brand selling outlets，Lower cost than the big names on Five Avenues，So the price is also low；Big-name brands bought at outlets cannot be returned 188bet app download or exchanged at the big-name stores on Fifth Avenue，Because it is inherently different from the big-name stores on Five Avenues。

A friend of mine heard that I was going to write outlets，Shakes head and asks，What’s the significance?Some people just like those big logos，No matter what the truth is，They will still be persistent，As long as you have such determination，There is soil in outlets。

This is really a good thing。But everyone has the right to know the truth，Only when you know the truth can you have the freedom of choice。The truth about Outlets is not just the truth about outlets，It is also the truth about consumer psychology，The truth about global luxury brands，That is, the truth about the capital operation market。

According to outlet researchers，U.S. outlets were indeed manufacturers’ direct sales stores at first，The first batch appeared in the 1930s，Mainly sells damaged or overstocked products to its employees at prices below the market。

1974，"Vanity Fair" company discovered the business opportunity，Combine multiple direct sales stores，Opened the first outlet sales center in Pennsylvania。Initially its nature remains unchanged，Still factory direct sales。This business model is quite popular，In the process of continuous expansion，The demand for goods in stores is increasing，The factory has a backlog of products or regular brand stores are out of season、Broken code products simply cannot meet the supply，So，The practice of purchasing products that meet store price standards through supply channels has quietly become a trend，Only external，The capitalists don’t want to pierce this layer of window paper。

When I first arrived in New York seventeen or eight years ago，The nearby outlets only have American brands，Coach、Calvin Klein is already a great character，Nike、Ann Taylor、J.Crew、Mid-range products such as Gap absolutely dominate the world。Until the turn of the new century，European 188bet sports betting app download famous brands have just begun to pour in in large numbers。

This is in line with the basic rhythm of the “democratic renaissance” of global luxury brands，This democratization，Interpreted by some large European financial groups as: giving everyone the right to enjoy luxury goods。They bought or appropriated almost all the old family-owned workshops in Europe，Then through various marketing methods，Make the original niche luxury goods industry multi-level or even low-level，Obtain unprecedented benefits。

I have to say，The outlet stores in the United States really provide the best soil for this kind of "democratization"，It plays commercial games by taking advantage of people’s psychology of loving famous brands and taking advantage，Help these large consortiums easily occupy the market that should belong to more small and medium-sized companies。

But，The market is so big，The more space occupied by those eye-catching logos，The more we can enjoy the freedom of letting a hundred flowers bloom, the more we will be sacrificed，And ultimately sacrificed，In fact, we are still ourselves。We allowed Europe’s ancient family workshops to lose the independence they had always insisted on、Personality and high quality，So all we can enjoy is convergence、Monotonous and mediocre；We bring together many independent designers、The living space of craftsmen has been reduced to almost zero，So we no longer have the opportunity to be exposed to innovation or even the ability to perceive innovation。

The water lowered the ship，When noble luxury brands are going downhill，Local mid-range brands will inevitably become garbage，Whether we are producers or consumers，We can only live in more and more garbage dumps。

However，One truth is always accompanied by another truth: when you walk from the high-end club to the market，When you see designer bags with the same logo everywhere，The tricks played by the capitalists are not far away from being exposed。

*Source of this article: Wanshang Club Wanshang Club Wanshang Department, author: Yu Xiaodan, original title:《Why are outlets so cheap？The “conspiracy” that 99% of Chinese people don’t know about》