After all the hype and anticipation, i finally made my way to the newly opened Johor Premium Outlets! I actually visited the outlets a day before official opening day and it was already packed with people with almost all outlets open. A list of shops available is written on my previous blog post.
I was all ready to buy designer goods at a fraction of the price, with the sole target being Coach (whose unreasonable prices in Malaysia compared to US is atrocious) and maybe Burberry.
The complaints from Singaporeans about signage is very true! We drove from JB and got a little lost due to the lack of signs, so do google maps before you go. If all else fails head towards Foon Yew High School in Kulaijaya (do not be confused with the Foon Yew High School at Stulang Laut JB).
The roads leading in to the place was congested but parking areas were abundant! Go figure. There were loads of tour groups and buses too.
The first thing i did was to go to the bank located there and withdraw some ammunition.
It was a moderately sunny day when i got there, but there was enough shade and fans around to keep me cool. Not the case though for my KL born and bred husband who found it too hot and congested with people. Perhaps the prospect of shopping helped me overlook all that but i did not feel hot at all.
The layout and architecture is gorgeous, a replica of outlet stores around the world.
But obviously you have no interest in how beautiful the place is. You want to know how good are the bargains! And how many Coach bags did i buy?
Well the answer is an abysmal ZERO!
The cheapskate auntie in me could not bring myself to shell a couple of hundreds for a bag! I have definitely lost my need for branded bags. I always feel you should have one or two and hopefully last you a very long time. I have three and i'm contented for now.
I used to like Coach bags but since i found out how cheap it was overseas i had moved on to other brands. Plus the bags are gorgeous but a bit too heavy and big for me.
But that didn't stop me from sniffing out whether there are any good bargains to buy. I went in thinking i can snag a nice cheap wristlet.
I was seriously thinking i can get a cheap wristlet at Coach for less than RM100, since i see blogshops selling genuine Coach for RM100-120. They must be making a tidy profit right? So obviously a wristlet should cost less than RM100.
The only thing i could see costing less than RM100 are the puny coin purses. The wristels cost slightly more than 100. The usual price of 200-300 are slashed to 50% off.
The bags, some of which are pretty nice cost from RM800- RM1-2k after discount. In all a good deal compared to the boutiques in KL, but not what you would want to pay if you're not a Coach fan.
The crowd was so big that there was a line going in to Coach and Burberry.
I did not even bother going into Burberry- the line was too long and I had no plans of getting anything from there anyway.
At Nike, Man U jerseys from last season was going at 50% off, which i thought was a good deal but my Man U fanatic brother said he could buy it cheaper from shops in KL.
So as you can imagine i did not buy much.
Guess where cheapskate me ended up shopping at? Vincci (local shoe and accessories shop). And there were bargains aplenty!
Amidst the bustling crowd i bought a pair of flats for RM13.70.
There were so many people ,it was a grab the nearest salesperson, try and pay that kind of thing. Despite the chaos the salespeople were admirably calm.
All in all, if you're from Johor it's worth driving down for a look. If you're from any other state, then i don't think it's worth coming all the way down, unless you have other places you want to go or friends you wan to visit.
For Singaporeans, it's worth a look, but the prices are similar to what is offered during The Great Singapore Sale.
I dragged my brother along for good measure.
I was all ready to buy designer goods at a fraction of the price, with the sole target being Coach (whose unreasonable prices in Malaysia compared to US is atrocious) and maybe Burberry.
The complaints from Singaporeans about signage is very true! We drove from JB and got a little lost due to the lack of signs, so do google maps before you go. If all else fails head towards Foon Yew High School in Kulaijaya (do not be confused with the Foon Yew High School at Stulang Laut JB).
The roads leading in to the place was congested but parking areas were abundant! Go figure. There were loads of tour groups and buses too.
The first thing i did was to go to the bank located there and withdraw some ammunition.
It was a moderately sunny day when i got there, but there was enough shade and fans around to keep me cool. Not the case though for my KL born and bred husband who found it too hot and congested with people. Perhaps the prospect of shopping helped me overlook all that but i did not feel hot at all.
The layout and architecture is gorgeous, a replica of outlet stores around the world.
As you can see loads of shade and fans.
I seldom see people carrying branded bags in JB but at the JPO there were loads of them, not in stores but on every lady's arm. The palm trees and mini pool added a nice touch.
But obviously you have no interest in how beautiful the place is. You want to know how good are the bargains! And how many Coach bags did i buy?
Well the answer is an abysmal ZERO!
The cheapskate auntie in me could not bring myself to shell a couple of hundreds for a bag! I have definitely lost my need for branded bags. I always feel you should have one or two and hopefully last you a very long time. I have three and i'm contented for now.
I used to like Coach bags but since i found out how cheap it was overseas i had moved on to other brands. Plus the bags are gorgeous but a bit too heavy and big for me.
But that didn't stop me from sniffing out whether there are any good bargains to buy. I went in thinking i can snag a nice cheap wristlet.
I was seriously thinking i can get a cheap wristlet at Coach for less than RM100, since i see blogshops selling genuine Coach for RM100-120. They must be making a tidy profit right? So obviously a wristlet should cost less than RM100.
The only thing i could see costing less than RM100 are the puny coin purses. The wristels cost slightly more than 100. The usual price of 200-300 are slashed to 50% off.
The bags, some of which are pretty nice cost from RM800- RM1-2k after discount. In all a good deal compared to the boutiques in KL, but not what you would want to pay if you're not a Coach fan.
The crowd was so big that there was a line going in to Coach and Burberry.
At Nike, Man U jerseys from last season was going at 50% off, which i thought was a good deal but my Man U fanatic brother said he could buy it cheaper from shops in KL.
So as you can imagine i did not buy much.
Guess where cheapskate me ended up shopping at? Vincci (local shoe and accessories shop). And there were bargains aplenty!
Amidst the bustling crowd i bought a pair of flats for RM13.70.
There were so many people ,it was a grab the nearest salesperson, try and pay that kind of thing. Despite the chaos the salespeople were admirably calm.
But my cheapest buy was this!
It's an embellished necklace which is very keeping in trend with the detachable collar craze in Japan.And with this purchase, i realized how crazily overpriced many items are at normal price.
This necklace...
Had a normal price of RM 79 which was discounted to RM2.50 at the outlet store! I had to exclaim loudly.'Are you sure this is for real' only to have a nearby salesgirl nod her head vigorously with a grim look on her face. That is a 97% discount!
I also bought a Shu Uemura oil cleanser at 30% off from the Cosmetics and Fragrance shop.
For Singaporeans, it's worth a look, but the prices are similar to what is offered during The Great Singapore Sale.
All in all i'm just happy there is a new shopping place in JB.
2 comments:
Thank you for your review. I visited the outlet center on 28 March 2015 and as luck would have it, the Ralph Lauren store was having an additional 50% off sale already super reduced items. Had it not been for this additional 50% off, I would have been rather disappointed. I purchased some pants for a mere $15USD, s a couple of sweaters for $40USD that I know cost hundreds of dollars back in the States.
That's great! At least someone found something cheap there!
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