"We believe outlets' experiential consumption, combination with environment and discount of products will not be replaced by e-commerce. Outlets and e-commerce will develop side by side," Vito Xu, chairman of Sasseur Cayman Holding told fibre2fashion.com.

He asserts that the outlet malls industry in China is progressing quickly. The most aggressive practitioners of this retailing strategy are mild luxury brands, sports brands, jeans brands, and women's fashion brands in the dragon's country.

"There is a huge space for outlets, since customers' demand and market development is poised to grow, especially for high-end outlets," Xu states. China is already the biggest luxury goods consumption market in the world, he adds.

China's outlets' business follows the trends in the US, where it is mature. According to Xu, some of trends currently exhibited by Chinese outlet malls are current showing rapid growth, high-end and low-quality outlets, chain-stores, opening of outlets by some department stores or shopping malls, and development in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

Sasseur is also coming up with omni-channel plans. They already have stores in WeChat, the most recognised social media platform in China. They are also working on other omni-channel plans, Xu confirms.

Click here to read the complete interview

Fibre2Fashion News Desk