Catalog Outlet Store

Harold Alfond was an American businessman who founded the Dexter Shoe Company in the early years of the 1990s.  With a highly unusual and ground-breaking idea in mind, Harold Alfond then opened a retail store that sold the shoes which were manufactured in his own Dexter Shoe Company directly to customers.  Harold Alfond referred to his store as his “factory outlet” store.  As there were no middlemen, no brokers, no agents and no high overhead for operating costs to pay off, Harold Alfond was able to sell shoes at his modest “factory outlet” store at must lower prices than any other retail store.  Harold Alfond took home his just profit and customers took home shoes they could finally afford.  This was a true win – win situation and the idea began to spread like a wild fire that would not be contained.  First it spread nationally from one city to another and then globally from one continent to another continent clear across the ocean.

The idea of “factory outlet” stores became such a huge hit that the entire retail industry had to reorganize in order to accommodate it.  Then “factory outlets” and their manufacturing benefactors pulled forces together and started yet another trend — “outlet malls.”  Outlet malls, which incidentally also began in the United States, are centralized locations where several “factory outlets” can be conveniently found under a single roof.  Most “outlet malls” are found at sites which are removed from centers of towns or even outside the borders of towns.  True, the primary reason that catalog outlet stores are established in remote locations is due to several legal ramifications that only permitted their operations far from other completing businesses.  But the other truth is that businesses located in faraway places also enjoy lower overhead.  And since these businesses enjoy lower overhead, they can then pass the savings onto their customers.

In the beginning, outlets were offshoots of factories and warehouses that manufactured and stocked such items as clothing, sporting goods, electrical products, house ware, furniture, cosmetics, office supplies and toys.  But the outlet idea had not yet been utilized to its fullest potential.  And that became apparent when the major department stores and the large specialty stores, chain stores or franchise retailers opened outlets for their surplus stock items, outdated stock items as well as stock that needs to be moved out in order to make room for new stock.  And then, with the advent of the World Wide Web and the Internet, online catalog venders and mail order catalog venders began seeing the concept of outlet stores as a viable solution for their industry as well.  Thus began the era of catalog outlet stores.

For instance, Linen Source is a well established mail order catalog company who had recently opened a catalog outlet store where they are selling their wares at great discounts of up to 80%.  Their catalog outlet store is selling their surplus linens, beddings and much more.

Casual Living USA is another mail order catalog company that had opened a catalog outlet store for their surplus stock items between seasons and all their prices are discounted.

The Penney J.C. Company is yet another mail order catalog vender that sells its leftover seasonal products at a catalog outlet store at significantly reduced rates.