Malls coming up exclusively to house factory outlets
retail facilities attempt to fight ecommerce rivals in a market increasingly driven by deep discounting. While such retail space, where brands are offered on discount round the year, is popular globally, the segment is unorganised in India. «We have opened one such mall in Delhi's Jasola where all the premium brands have their factory outlets.
Some brands have opened their first such store in the country. It is still an early stage, but the concept is expected to gain popularity,» said Abhishek Bansal, managing director of Pacific Malls. The mall houses brands such as The Collective, The Tank, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, Skechers, Adidas and Birkenstock at discounted prices.
The company intends to explore more such options. Factory outlets for premium brands were not getting the right kind of development in India which has now opened up with these premium outlet malls coming up. These malls will have the right environment including food and beverages and movies making shopping a total experience, said Lacoste India managing director and CEO Rajesh Jain.
«Till now, most factory outlets were located in high street locations which was a hassle for consumers for parking. Our store in the Jasola mall has exceeded our expectation,» he added. Industry experts said similar retail spaces are planned in Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Guwahati and Punjab as well.
«Retail will not be limited to mall and high street, but move to highways with more infrastructure being built. On highways, factory outlets mall along with F&B and recreational makes sense. In coming years, this is going to be a popular concept,» said Susil S Dungarwal, founder of Beyond Squarefeet, a shopping mall specialist company.
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