# Does Polo produce outlet specific clothes?



## bigCat (Jun 10, 2005)

I was browsing some offerings at a local Polo outlet store. I noticed that some of she shirts and jackets were sized in general sizes (S, M, L, XL). They carried the same blue label as regular store items. The items like these normally sell in mesured sizes: neck, sleeve, chest.

Are these items produced for the outlet specifically, or are they leftovers from regular stores? I was under impression that all blue label items were regular store items, but I may be wrong.


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## Artisan Fan (Jul 21, 2006)

I have often wondered this myself...I think it is a real possibility.


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## kitonbrioni (Sep 30, 2004)

My experience with RL Polo outlets has been that most of it was unique to the outlet. I stopped checking the outlet awhile back so I don't know the current stock.


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## DocHolliday (Apr 11, 2005)

I can't say with certainty whether any of the clothes are made for the outlets, but I've seen the S, M, L sizing elsewhere as well.


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## ranchsooner (Sep 14, 2005)

hreljan said:


> I was browsing some offerings at a local Polo outlet store. I noticed that some of she shirts and jackets were sized in general sizes (S, M, L, XL). They carried the same blue label as regular store items. The items like these normally sell in mesured sizes: neck, sleeve, chest.
> 
> Are these items produced for the outlet specifically, or are they leftovers from regular stores? I was under impression that all blue label items were regular store items, but I may be wrong.


There is nothing that is made specifically for the outlets like Brooks Brothers does. Some of the merchandise does skip a distribution channel though. Currently, there are some pieces in the kids, womens, and home departments that can be found in retail stores right now. I have been told that all the stuff in the mens department is leftover from previous seasons. There are a few stores that carry PSR merchandise, which are items that are leftover from the Polo retail stores. This can be anywhere from PL suits, shirts, etc, Blue Label suits, pants, etc, to Polo knit shirts or dress shirts made in Hong Kong. It seems that most of the PSR is priced significantly lower than the other "cheaper" stuff.


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## jamgood (Feb 8, 2006)

I beg to differ. The first Polo Factory Store was beside the Polo Tailored Clothing building in Mass. where PRL suits/sport coats were made from 1974 until the early 90's. (It was Lanham clothing until PRL acquired it in '77). It was strickly overstocks and end-of-season stock from the PRL retail stores. That was in the 80's. Prior to the outlet stores, PRL unloaded such stock on "jobbers" who resold it to various off price stores. The Factory Store was surprizingly successful. Now there are about 130 Factory Stores worldwide. 130 stores cannot be stocked by overstock and end of season merchandise. On the men's side, most of the sportswear is made specifically for the outlets using the same makers, and sometimes previous years fabrics and/or styles. At one time the factory store Polo labels had a dot woven in gold thread on the label to discourage attempted returns to retail stores. Now I suspect the UPC code on price tags prohibits return for full retail, no matter the printed price. A couple of years ago Maxx/Marshalls had a variety of PRL sport shirts, and varying prices on the PRL tag, all with the same inventory number on the PRL price tag: 012456789. Once PRL fills its seasonal committments to the PRL Stores and retail merchants, the excess may find its way to the PRL Factory store in the current season. PRL grosses billions a year, and what might be a small % amount of excess to PRL is still a significant amount of clothing to disperse. And if something does not sell well in an RL store, it is sometimes removed from the floor and finds a home elsewhere. Several years ago Polo University suits and sport coats became factory store brands. PRL has had problems with its green label Lauren licensees, and the green label Lauren may now be a factory store suit/sport coat label, I dunno. PSRs are end of season stock strickly from the Ralph Lauren stores, and may include store returns. Often the retail price tags are torn or missing the price below the perffed price tag. PSR pricing is inconsistent. The same PSR items may have different Factory Store discounted prices, often substantially different. I think PRL may have a policy of sending non-damaged returns to the distribution center, and thence to a Factory store. Not all factory stores receive PSRs. PRL now makes dress shirts in neck sizes with average sleeve lengths, specific sleeve lengths are becoming rarer. RLPL dress shirts do not have specific sleeve lengths. Non chest sized Polo sport coats are the more casual coats, not fully tailored, and are priced lower at retail. If you check, most are made in developing countries, some in Italy. All the tailored sport coats are made in Italy by Corneliani. If a sport coat retails for less than perhaps $850, it's not fully tailored Corneliani, which has a chest size and S,R or L length.

What are paragraphs?

And now that i've attempted an informative post, it's time to be impish.......


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## Tomasso (Aug 17, 2005)

Please, don't get jamgood started:icon_smile_wink:


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## jkreusc (Aug 14, 2006)

I haven't confirmed or denied, but my Brother in Law says that the color of the polo embroidery is different in the outlet. IE, you might see a black pique polo with a maroon embroidery at the outlet vs a black pique with a red embroidery.


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## Thome Loire (Mar 24, 2005)

I think most of the Lauren label is outlook specific with some turning up as in mall dept. stores for people who want a suit with Ralph Lauren's name on it. 

I do see a lot of blue label that I can't find any really difference with, usually khakis, polos and other sportswear to what they sell at actual Polo Stores. Shoes are most definitely outlet specific or at least a lower line than Blue Label, with I'd guess an occassional exception. 

Every once in a while a purple label item will turn up though its few and far between. 

Its certainly possible that the shirts, jackets you saw were from some diffusion line, though at times retailers do seem to do this (J. Crew's blazers were done this way for a while, as well as others). Not really sure of the reasoning but Mr. Lauren could have simply gone that route especially if the jacket / shirts were more of the casual / sportswear look than a more tailored look. 

Hope this was somewhat informative.


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## ranchsooner (Sep 14, 2005)

Hey, I was just passing along info a store manager had told me. Sounds like he was only partially correct, making me only partially correct.


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## lee_44106 (Apr 10, 2006)

Jamgood, you are always a source for great info on PRL, but the posts are so long!:icon_smile_big: 

My personal experience with the Polo outlet is that one could find all sorts of goods from the Ralph Lauren empire. To date, I have not seen anything to suggest the existence of an outlet-specific product. 

I will say, however, that I find a lack of consistence in quality control recently, specifically among the polo shirts. The "custom fit" ones I picked up from Marshalls or TJMaxx seem much more trim (with shorter hemline) than the ones from the outlets.


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## smr (Apr 24, 2005)

Two or three years ago, I was told by a Factory Store employee that some of the goods at the RLP Factory stores are made for the Factory stores. Some of the polos and chinos were given as examples by someone who worked at the Woodbury Common store (she had worked there for several years, too).


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## harrycoverts (Jun 23, 2005)

Jamgood is correct. Much of the PRL Outlet mechandise is produced specifically for the Outlets. Over time, I have this confirmed this, via the following:

-Former manager of a major PRL on the East Coast; he a trusted friend with no reason to mislead me.
-Current senior employee of one PRL store; also, a current manager of another, smaller PRL store in an adjacent state
-Manager of a one of the PRL Outlet stores in the Mid-Atlantic region (claims that their location NEVER received a genuine Purple Label item to sell!)

I know this sources may appear to be a bit vague, but I don't want anyone getting in trouble because of their honesty. 

Andy, didn't you work for Polo? Please weigh in on this one.

Regards,

harrycoverts


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## ragdoll (Feb 9, 2006)

The same is true at Neiman Marcus Last Call. Some but not all of the merchandise is made for the outlet.


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## zegnamtl (Apr 19, 2005)

Jamgood is on the money.

Even Zegna has gotten in to the factory outlet line game.

I guess the thinking is that the low end factory outlet suit buyer is not the Zegna shop Sartorial line buyer, so capture that segmentof the market too before they head elsewhere.


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## jcusey (Apr 19, 2003)

zegnamtl said:


> I guess the thinking is that the low end factory outlet suit buyer is not the Zegna shop Sartorial line buyer, so capture that segmentof the market too before they head elsewhere.


I imagine that most factory outlet stores were started as a mechanism to get rid of production overruns and seconds. Companies discovered, however, that they could be major profit machines in their own right. This presents a problem: how do you expand this area of the business without expanding production overruns and seconds? The only answer I see is to produce goods specifically for the factory stores.


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## thinman (Jan 21, 2005)

FWIW, a salesman told me to check the few racks marked "Clearance" for the PSR items; everything else in the store had "skipped a distribution channel", i.e. was made for the outlet store. If true, this means 80-95% of what I see in the RL outlet stores is made specifically for the outlet. I rarely stop in anymore, since Purple Label merchandise is almost non-existent in the outlets.


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## DocHolliday (Apr 11, 2005)

thinman said:


> FWIW, a salesman told me to check the few racks marked "Clearance" for the PSR items; everything else in the store had "skipped a distribution channel", i.e. was made for the outlet store. If true, this means 80-95% of what I see in the RL outlet stores is made specifically for the outlet. I rarely stop in anymore, since Purple Label merchandise is almost non-existent in the outlets.


This is very interesting, and matches up with my experiences pretty closely. Nearly everything I've ever bought from a Polo outlet has come from the clearance rack. And the last time I was in, the clerk told me that the clearance stuff usually comes in in such small quantity that it goes straight to the clearance rack -- no time on the floor in between. That seems to line up with Thinman's explanation pretty well.

It also explains why one outlet near here is so much better than the other. One has a good-sized clearance rack, while the other has hardly any clearance merch at all. I don't think I've ever bought anything at the latter.

That said, I would gamble that most of the ties and pocket squares aren't made for the outlet. They usually seem a jumble of leftovers, and there's no need to have stacks of the same item, as there is with, say, trousers or sportcoats.


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## Prufrock (Mar 9, 2006)

I have an outlet that I pass frequently on the way to and from other places, and I stop by about once a week. There is never anything that one might want on the floor, but this summer I have bought a RLPL dress shirt and pants, two Black Label pairs of slacks, a PRL sweater and some PRL Made in Italy Regent shirts--each item costing less than 50 dollars after all the discounts. Perhaps I have just been lucky to find all of this stuff in my size (never happens at other outlet/discount stores), but thought I would pass this along.

There is currently a bunch of RLPL and polo Cashmere stuff out there in clearance. I have seen many of the RLPL items on the Purple Lable Sale page on RL's website, so I guess much of the clearance rack stuff is things they could not sell or returns. 

The suits I have tried on there are all PRL Italian made--however, they all seem to have a somewhat "off" fit in different ways and the cuffs are almost always finished. Could these be MTM rejects?


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## thinman (Jan 21, 2005)

DocHolliday said:


> That said, I would gamble that most of the ties and pocket squares aren't made for the outlet. They usually seem a jumble of leftovers, and there's no need to have stacks of the same item, as there is with, say, trousers or sportcoats.


The ties and pocket squares seem to be the exception, so I always stop at the tie bin. I've noticed that some ties/pocket squares have a "MSRP" that is crossed out by machine, whereas others have the MSRP crossed out and a new price written by hand. My working hypothesis is that the former are made for the outlet stores and the latter come from the mainline stores. If this is true, a large fraction of the ties and pocket squares come from the mainline stores.

Prufrock, you are indeed fortunate. I used to stop at three different RL outlet stores semi-regularly and the only Purple Label items I've seen are several ties, 1-2 sweaters and one shipment of approximately 8 gray pinstripe suits, none of them in my size.


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## cindy (Aug 7, 2015)

I was at an outlet store today & curious(Ralph Lauren, women's ). I noticed today, & also in the past, that the clothing seems odd. A near miss, similar to current , but slightly off. Belts & such were" altered", by design & materials used. I wear nearly 90 % Lauren, so I know the merchandise pretty well-going back 30+ years. Even the labeling looked slightly off as well. All of the clothing was nothing I had ever seen.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

Hreljan thanks you!


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

LMAO! Is 9 years the record for zombie threads?


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## Acme (Oct 5, 2011)

^No, no it's not.


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## Haffman (Oct 11, 2010)

Having spent what seems like a large portion of my life in the Ralph Lauren outlet in Bicester over the last 10 years, I am pretty certain that they make stuff specifically for outlet - although it tends to be fairly generic 'polo pony logo' stuff. I don't think the black or purple label stuff is made for the outlet


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

RL outlet merchandise is made for the outlet. Sometimes they will have odd merchandise from their mainline stores in stock and on specific racks, but the pickings are slim.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

Ralph Lauren does NOT make outlet-specific clothing. The outlets sell previous season and sometimes blemished merchandise or merchandise lines that they produced but opted not to put in their corporate stores.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

drlivingston said:


> Ralph Lauren does NOT make outlet-specific clothing. The outlets sell previous season and sometimes blemished merchandise or merchandise lines that they produced but opted not to put in their corporate stores.


Very surprised! But I learn something every day.

Insider information?


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## meanoldmanning (Jan 10, 2015)

drlivingston said:


> Ralph Lauren does NOT make outlet-specific clothing. The outlets sell previous season and sometimes blemished merchandise or merchandise lines that they produced but opted not to put in their corporate stores.


I'm curious too, where does this info come from? I had read on the ever trustworthy internet that there were in fact two distinct levels of product at Polo Ralph Lauren Outlets, much as you find 346 (outlet specific) and main line product at BB outlets.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

I worked for RL in my suit-wearing days. While they do not make outlet-specific clothing. They will mess with people somewhat. It's not as rare as you may think to find RLBL and RLPL merchandise in outlets. However, you have to know what you are looking for. RL will, at times, re-tag RLPL and RLBL merchandise with standard PRL blue labels prior to distribution to the outlet / factory stores. In their words, "This protects the integrity of our premium lines".


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## Matt S (Jun 15, 2006)

drlivingston said:


> I worked for RL in my suit-wearing days. While they do not make outlet-specific clothing. They will mess with people somewhat. It's not as rare as you may think to find RLBL and RLPL merchandise in outlets. However, you have to know what you are looking for. RL will, at times, re-tag RLPL and RLBL merchandise with standard PRL blue labels prior to distribution to the outlet / factory stores. In their words, "This protects the integrity of our premium lines".


When were you suit-wearing days? Things may have changed. I used to have many pairs of chinos from the outlets, and then I discovered the chinos in the main stores had many differences, like a second inside button, a different label and didn't shrink 3 inches in length. Since the clothes in the outlets were not identical to the main stores, I assumed the clothes made were especially made for the outlet.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

Here is something from Put This On:

https://putthison.com/post/505850747/outletmallshopping

An excerpt:

"Here's what I've got experience with (and do email if you have inside info on stuff we don't have out here in Southern California):

Ralph Lauren has both "Polo" and "Ralph Lauren" outlets. The Ralph Lauren outlets are pricier, but carry only actual Polo overstocks and Purple Label stuff. Some, we've heard, have recently switched to women's wear only. Discounts at these outlets are good but not great. The Polo outlets are primarily "planned overstock" made for the outlet stores. The quality is not amazing, though probably not much worse than other Polo items in their categories. The tailored clothes are mostly Lauren, which is a low-quality line. There are usually one to three racks, however, which have Polo, RRL and even Purple Label. Learn to spot these racks, and you can do very, very well. (Mike notes that the Polo outlets are a great source of cheap bedding.)"


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

drlivingston said:


> Ralph Lauren does NOT make outlet-specific clothing. The outlets sell previous season and sometimes blemished merchandise or merchandise lines that they produced but opted not to put in their corporate stores.


This is patently false. The outlets have a main floorset comprised of year-round staples like chinos, shorts, polos, and button-downs, all produced specifically for the outlet stores. That's why you find complete and consistent size and color runs. This merchandise is typically found on the in-wall shelving around the perimeter of the store planogram. These goods are supplemented with mainline goods from PRL and the various sub-lines, usually on rounders or interior shelving units, that are overstocks, prior season packaways, irregulars, department store returns, etc. There is no way they could maintain the consistency and assortment of the basics that you see in the outlets without producing for them specifically.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

FLCracka said:


> This is patently false. The outlets have a main floorset comprised of year-round staples like chinos, shorts, polos, and button-downs, all produced specifically for the outlet stores. That's why you find complete and consistent size and color runs. This merchandise is typically found on the in-wall shelving around the perimeter of the store planogram. These goods are supplemented with mainline goods from PRL and the various sub-lines, usually on rounders or interior shelving units, that are overstocks, prior season packaways, irregulars, department store returns, etc. There is no way they could maintain the consistency and assortment of the basics that you see in the outlets without producing for them specifically.


Like I said, I learn something every day! 

I've been in a Polo outlet store less than a dozen times in my life, many visits now more than 20 years ago. My recollection was that upon inspecting the goods I quickly divided the stock in my own mind into "junk" and "good stuff." My assumption being that good stuff was standard merchandise, and the junk wasn't. And there was a lot more of the former.

I know things change. I am more familiar with the retailer Orvis. As recently as ten years ago, the merchandise in the outlet store (s,?) was all normal stock merchandise. Then it became about 30%-40% stock. And the last time I looked a few years ago, it was *all* "junk."

The way of American business is to segment such operations into separate profit and loss centers, and naturally, to constantly push for greater profitability. Ultimately, you almost always wind up selling poorer goods to make better margins.


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

Flanderian said:


> Like I said, I learn something every day!
> 
> I've been in a Polo outlet store less than a dozen times in my life, many visits now more than 20 years ago. My recollection was that upon inspecting the goods I quickly divided the stock in my own mind into "junk" and "good stuff." My assumption being that good stuff was standard merchandise, and the junk wasn't. And there was a lot more of the former.
> 
> ...


I made some incredible buys at a couple of weekend-long, traveling Orvis warehouse sales that came through town several years ago. Barbour Beauforts, Battenkill luggage, briefbags, and gun cases, Gokey boots, and more. I bought multiples and flipped enough at a profit to make the items I kept for myself free! I wish they still had those sales in my neck of the woods....they were awesome.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

FLCracka said:


> I made some incredible buys at a couple of weekend-long, traveling Orvis warehouse sales that came through town several years ago. Barbour Beauforts, Battenkill luggage, briefbags, and gun cases, Gokey boots, and more. I bought multiples and flipped enough at a profit to make the items I kept for myself free! I wish they still had those sales in my neck of the woods....they were awesome.


The last time I saw Barbour on sale from Orvis was about 8 years ago, Beauforts at half price. I don't know what the quality of the Battenkill lugage is now. I've got two pieces from when J. W. Hulme made for them, and one after. The Hulme bags are wonderful, the other one a waste of money. Never really cared for Gokey.

Hulme still makes many of the same pieces, just hold onto your socks when you see the prices! 

https://www.jwhulmeco.com/Rolling-Duffle-Bag-Large-p/69701.htm


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

FLCracka said:


> This is patently false. The outlets have a main floorset comprised of year-round staples like chinos, shorts, polos, and button-downs, all produced specifically for the outlet stores. That's why you find complete and consistent size and color runs. This merchandise is typically found on the in-wall shelving around the perimeter of the store planogram. These goods are supplemented with mainline goods from PRL and the various sub-lines, usually on rounders or interior shelving units, that are overstocks, prior season packaways, irregulars, department store returns, etc. There is no way they could maintain the consistency and assortment of the basics that you see in the outlets without producing for them specifically.


The items that you speak of are part of the RL BSR program (Basic Stock Replenishment).


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

I would be interested in knowing if the quality is different in the outlet stores. We have a new one here in Vancouver and the pricing is very attractive. To me the quality seems the same as at the Hudson's Bay or Macy's, where I have bought Polo in the past.

the only difference I have noticed is the sizing, it seems slightly smaller. At least in XXL.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

^ I honestly don't know about the quality as I don't own a lot of RL Polo stuff. I know for J Crew there's a pretty big difference in terms of overall quality.

Just from the few times I've been in a Polo outlet, the biggest thing I've noticed is the selection. It's mostly basics and you won't find the range of dress shirts with different collars, fits, etc. 

As alluded to earlier, there will be a ton of "Lauren" branded merchandise which quite low quality across the board. 

I've actually never seen, let alone been in, a Ralph Lauren outlet.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

David J. Cooper said:


> I would be interested in knowing if the quality is different in the outlet stores. We have a new one here in Vancouver and the pricing is very attractive. To me the quality seems the same as at the Hudson's Bay or Macy's, where I have bought Polo in the past.
> 
> the only difference I have noticed is the sizing, it seems slightly smaller. At least in XXL.


I don't know if this helpful, but your question is slightly different from the OP's, his being as I understand it, is there merchandise made specifically for the outlet stores? Polo, Ralph Lauren has long made products that span a broad range of quality. And while it's obvious that differences in quality will be seen among the multitude of Brand names under their umbrella, I've seen differences in quality in products both by type of product within a brand, and even between different lots of the same product. Many of these products are so generic, and sold in such volumes that they're almost always made many different jobbers, and if QC isn't perfect (And it isn't.) variations can and will occur.


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

Flanderian said:


> I don't know if this helpful, but your question is slightly different from the OP's, his being as I understand it, is there merchandise made specifically for the outlet stores? Polo, Ralph Lauren has long made products that span a broad range of quality. And while it's obvious that differences in quality will be seen among the multitude of Brand names under their umbrella, I've seen differences in quality in products both by type of product within a brand, and even between different lots of the same product. Many of these products are so generic, and sold in such volumes that they're almost always made many different jobbers, and if QC isn't perfect (And it isn't.) variations can and will occur.


Thanks Flanderian.


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

drlivingston said:


> I worked for RL in my suit-wearing days. While they do not make outlet-specific clothing. They will mess with people somewhat. It's not as rare as you may think to find RLBL and RLPL merchandise in outlets. However, you have to know what you are looking for. RL will, at times, re-tag RLPL and RLBL merchandise with standard PRL blue labels prior to distribution to the outlet / factory stores. In their words, "This protects the integrity of our premium lines".


While manipulative this makes sense from the company's point of view and, to an extent, helps me understand one of retail's great mysteries - how Polo is able to maintain a true premium brand (Purple Label) and high-end fashionable brand (Black Label) despite the parent company selling merchandise at every price point and in every markets (Purple Label on Madison and Lauren in Target). Most brands dilute their premium brands when they do this, but Polo hasn't - they understand brand management. And what a score to pick up Purple Label goods (relabeled Blue Label) at outlet prices.


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