Outlet store

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An outlet store or factory outlet is a retail store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public through their own branded stores. The stores can be brick and mortar or online. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store, attached to a factory or warehouse. Often these stores are grouped together in outlet malls. The invention of the retail outlet store is often credited to Harold Alfond, founder of the Dexter Shoe Company.

Since its origination, outlets have seen variation in project size and an industry reorganization in the early 1990s which resulted in many smaller outlets going dark. As newer outlets continue their popularity, clear differences between new well designed centers and traditional retail centers is becoming harder and harder to differentiate.