Outlet store

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An outlet store, factory outlet or factory store is a brick and mortar or online store where manufacturers sell their merchandise directly to the public. Products at outlet stores are usually sold at reduced prices compared to regular stores due to being overstock, closeout, returned, factory seconds, or lower-quality versions manufactured specifically for outlets.

These stores typically economize on presentation, either by selling online, or (in physical stores) instead maximizing on the flexibility of the store's layout, and using simple (make-shift or farmers' market style) furniture, or just pallets and collars, that can be altered and moved ad hoc by store owners or personnel, without any need for carpenters or painters – to be quickly adaptable to whatever stock and batches they may receive for sale. Many goods are simply presented in stacks and bins. Instead of having a tidy dropped ceiling, you may just see the structural roof or ceiling above you, in minimally finished state, with lighting sometimes simply hanging down on their electrical cables, and any (overhead) HVAC conduits and vents in plain view.

Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowing customers to watch the production process, such as in the original L.L. Bean store. In modern usage, outlet stores are typically manufacturer-branded stores such as Gap or Bon Worth grouped together in outlet malls. The invention of the factory outlet store is often credited to Harold Alfond, founder of the Dexter Shoe Company.^[1]