If you grew up in the ’90s, you know that “going to the mall” was a given for fun weekend plans.

While a big part of the experience included socializing and simply visiting your favorite stores, for a lot of consumers on a budget looking to snag a piece of luxury, outlet malls also offered a great deal.

“[Outlet stores] provide a platform to reach a broader audience without compromising the brand’s image in their main retail channels, which helps with market penetration and brand visibility,” Sam Vise, CEO at retail intelligence platform Optimum Retailing, told Retail Brew via email.

“Additionally, outlet stores are an effective way to manage inventory by clearing out excess or past-season items, thus reducing markdowns in primary stores and supporting overall profitability.”

The comeback: While inflation has certainly pushed consumers to cut back on discretionary spending, it has also in many ways revitalized the humble outlet mall.

Placer.ai, which provides location-based analytics for retailers, notes that while there was indeed a drop in shopper interest right after the pandemic, footfall at outlet stores is steadily picking up.

“Visitation trends to luxury outlet malls remain down compared to pre-pandemic levels, but have seen steady improvement the past few years as consumers increasingly look for deals,” RJ Hottovy, Placer.ai’s head of analytical research, told Retail Brew via email.

Keep reading here.—JS

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This week in fashion news: One fast fashion e-commerce brand hires a former EU official as a consultant, while a major fashion retailer appoints a new CEO.

Shein hires EU official for lobbying: As Shein prepares for its IPO in the UK, the retailer has hired a former EU budget commissioner to act as a consultant in its lobbying efforts, Bloomberg reported. The consultant is reportedly helping Shein with a number of issues, including “the bloc’s policy environment” and possible customs taxes on cheap packages. The impending IPO could potentially value the company at £50 billion ($64 billion). 

The EU commission has kept an eye on fast fashion retailers over the past few years. Shein has been under scrutiny here in the US, where lawmakers have urged the SEC to look into labor violation claims.

Victoria’s Secret has a new CEO: Lo and behold, Victoria’s Secret & Co has a new CEO—not just anyone, but Hillary Super, the former CEO at Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty. Super, who will replace Martin Waters next month, is expected to lead the brand’s turnaround efforts. Earlier this year, the brand’s share price slipped 28% after its full-year sales guidance of $6 billion fell below analyst projections.

Keep reading here.—JS

Have a round. TikTok is now open to alcohol advertisers in the US.

The update, which went into effect in early June, allows alcohol and “alcohol branded merchandise” to be advertised to anyone 25 years old and above. The change comes as the heavily self-regulated alcohol industry—which spent roughly $1.7 billion in advertising in 2022, according to MediaRadar—has warmed to the platform.

Mixed feelings: Alcohol and social platforms have a mixed history. Since at least 2015, Meta has allowed alcohol ads so long as the ads aren’t targeted to people under the age of 21 in the United States, according to the company’s policies. However, in 2021, researchers were able to target kids between 13 and 17 years old with ads for cocktail recipes on both Instagram and Facebook, according to Consumer Reports. (Facebook later announced it would no longer allow ads for teens based on targeted interests.)

Previously, The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) and the Beer Institute, the two groups that, among other things, help set the advertising best practices for the alcohol industry, have cautioned their members against even posting on platforms where there could be young audiences.

• Both the Beer Institute and DISCUS require their members (and the rest of the industry) to advertise where at least 73.8% of audiences are over the age of 21.

It was unclear whether TikTok had previously met the age criteria until late 2023, when a complaint was filed against the malt-beverage brand BeatBox over content the company had posted on TikTok.

Keep reading on Marketing Brew.—RB