Just an hour from New York City is the greatest outlet center for visitors from near and far. Friends from Switzerland set a whole day aside for their visit to Woodbury Common. It is a Simon Premium Outlet Center with over 250 stores located in Central Valley, N.Y.
The location of Woodbury Commons is unique. It is just off Exit 16 of the New York Thruway (which makes it easy to find). But, more importantly, it is about 50 miles away from the New York City shopping centers; that is sufficiently far enough to give many brands the freedom to offer their merchandise at reduced prices. Sure, some may offer last year’s designs, but it is at a value that cannot be matched elsewhere. Along with New York City shoppers that make a day trip to these outlets, foreign visitors flock to Woodbury by the busload. Management has found it necessary to have customer attendants that speak 14 foreign languages in order to help visitors.
Over 13 million visitors come to Woodbury during the year. There is good reason, since the 902,000 square foot shopping paradise features some of the best luxury brands – from Polo Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch and Thomas Pink to Givenchy, Brioni, Coach, Under Armour, and Rag & Bone. Of course, there are many more brands there as well, ranging from Nautica to Burberry, Prada and Saint Laurent and Kate Spade. It’s a brand mix that caters to all tastes and lifestyles, and that further motivates so many group tours to visit.
Altogether, there are more than 250 famous brand name stores at Woodbury. That may be the reason why so many people make the effort to get there (by car or by the busload) to spend a lot of time shopping the many value offerings. Right now, the outlet center is crowded with back-to-school customers looking for great value in back-to-school fashions. In past years, there were real traffic jams on the New York Thruway when shoppers tried to rush to Woodbury Commons on Labor Day for last minute school (and some Fall) purchases). A better traffic pattern has cured that.
Two focal points are important to visitors. One is the Market Hall where many food chains are represented. The 80,000 square foot structure can seat 900 people. It includes Applebee’s, McDonald’s, Just Salads, Pret A Manger, pinkberry, Shake Shack, Starbucks, Wetzel’s Pretzel, and many more. People can rest there as well; after all, it can be an exhausting chore to go from one store to another, carrying lots of bags! The second focal point is the Polo Ralph Lauren store which juts out into the massive parking lot with its big frontage. The store was there from the beginning of the center and remains a huge customer draw.
It is interesting that some companies have their only outlet store here. Companies like Versace, Dior, Chloe, Oscar de la Renta, and Tom Ford have chosen this location as their only outlet for their fabled merchandise.
So, it’s not surprising to see that while there are 78 Simon Premium Outlets Centers in the United States from California to Florida, this is the flagship location. Recently, management renovated the 33 year-old Woodbury Outlet Center. Their investment, an estimated $170 million (Value Retail News), will easily pay off since there are now more amenities, including more seating, throughout the area. Many brands have renovated their stores as well – among them Polo Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch, Dunhill, Thomas Pink, Nike, and Coach. The Center’s renovation also included an expansion that made room for new shops; now you can find outlets for Marc Jacobs, Rag & Bones, Hickey Freeman, New Balance, Lalique, Dsquared2, Loewe, Givenchy, and others.
Outlet stores have become important focus centers in many areas in the United States and world-wide. While they may not always have as broad an assortment of stores as you find in Woodbury, they offer value-priced branded merchandise. Whether it is at the tip of Long Island (Tanger) or at the Vancouver Airport (MacArthur Glen), they are real destination locations that pull foot traffic to stores. And, those that consistently deliver great value on a good mix of highly desired merchandise should continue to see positive results into the future.
