Outlet centres outshining malls

Alexander McQueen, the late British designer did not usually hang around discount malls, but his label opened its first store in the US at Riverside County a few days ago, Los Angeles Time says.

Along with McQueen, Belstaff, Helmut Lang and several others have launched their first North American stores in the same mall.

Although the discounts are nothing to write home about, but these malls are welcoming the high level brands and challenging full-price centres at the same time.

Luxury brands like Michael Kors use affordable pricing to challenge high-end competitors. However, more of the elite labels are entering the outlet tier level to fight for customer loyalty.

The centre draws around 10 million visitors each year and has seen record sales since the global recession. It has been ranked the best performing outlet in the state and ranks among the national top five.