Consumer advocacy publications have continued to highlight that a portion of merchandise sold at outlet stores for a number of well-known brands is manufactured specifically for the outlet channel, rather than representing discounted overstock from full-price retail locations.
This distinction affects how shoppers should interpret "percent off" comparisons at outlet locations, since a lower-cost item made specifically for the outlet channel, compared against a full-price tag for a similar-looking mainline product, can produce a discount figure that doesn't describe an actual markdown on the same product.
Consumer groups continue to recommend evaluating outlet pricing on its own merits rather than relying heavily on comparisons to full-price store tags.