Asheville Outlets opening attracts crowds of shoppers

New open-air outlet center opened on May 1st in Asheville, North Carolina.

Asheville Outlets is the newest destination for shopping in western North Carolina with a strong and growing visitor market. Shoppers will find many popular brands, such as Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Coach, Cole Haan, GAP Factory Store, J. Crew Factory, Nike Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour, and Vera Bradley Outlet.

Opening Day began May 1st with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Area elected officials, dignitaries and local business leaders were on-site for the event, which included remarks from New England Development President Douglass Karp, Asheville Vice Mayor Marc Hunt, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kit Cramer, and Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Stephanie Brown.

In his remarks, Douglass Karp lauded the many people involved with opening a project of this magnitude. “I’m thrilled to be here today to celebrate the Grand Opening of Asheville Outlets with the hundreds of people who have helped make this day possible” he said.  “We truly appreciate the dedication of the men and women who have worked so hard on this project. I’m especially pleased to welcome the stores and the nearly 1,000 local employees who will be instrumental in making Asheville Outlets a special, regional shopping destination here in Asheville.”

A highlight of the Saturday Opening Weekend celebrations is the Looks for Less fashion show hosted by Celebrity stylist and Emmy award-winning television personality Carson Kressley. 

Asheville Outlets covers the greater Asheville market, with upstate South Carolina and east Tennessee, and is situated at the intersection of two main interstates – I-40 and I-26 at Brevard Road (Route 191). More than 1,300 jobs in Buncombe County and $33 million in annual, additional local income are being created with the opening of the outlet center.
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Asheville Outlets is a project of New England Development, which made a conscious effort to be smart stewards of the environment as they renovated the former mall site. Over 280 trees were saved and over 780 new trees will be planted above and beyond those that were persevered. The landscaping is predominantly species native to the area. Pedestrian, parking and roof canopy lights are all LED. The new property also includes four electric car charging stations and Asheville’s first dog watering fountain and way station.