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Menswear manufacturer Anderson Little opened one of the first off site outlets in New Bedford, Mass., in 1950, and multistore centers appeared in the 1970s. In the following two decades, outlet malls took off, due to rising middle class demand for branded apparel, says David Soberman, a University of Toronto marketing professor.

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It also makes sense for outlets to be in a spot that s accessible from multiple cities. And some remote towns offer tax breaks for the promise of new jobs and revenue. In addition, a brand s outlet needs to be far from its full price stores, competitors and wholesale customers, like department stores.