My Visit To Johor Premium Outlets (JPO)

Posted by : foongpc | Friday, March 22, 2013 | Published in

ADVERTISEMENT


After spending more than half a day at Legoland Malaysia, my friend Jim brought me to the much talked-about Johor Premium Outlets (JPO).

 photo P1180692_zpsb2955d33.jpg

Located at the Kulaijaya district in the Iskandar Malaysia region, JPO is the first ever proper Factory Outlet in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

 photo P1180679_zps50a1d6ae.jpg

From Legoland, it was a quick 15 minutes drive to JPO. But if you come from Johor Bahru or the Singapore Tuas checkpoint, it will take about half an hour's drive.

 photo P1180680_zps88901206.jpg

There were many international branded goods here selling at discounted prices. You can check out the complete store listings HERE. However, I did not buy anything (shocked?) as I was not really in the mood for shopping after spending a tiring day at Legoland.

 photo P1180681_zpsc0a3a842.jpg

A case of wasted opportunity? Perhaps, but from what I heard, the branded items are mainly leftover stocks from past seasons and a quick check on the prices of clothes (at least for men's clothes) did not make them a very attractive buy, even after the discounts.

 photo P1180682_zps19ef091a.jpg

Perhaps you will need to dig deeper and spend a longer time to find good bargains but clearly, I was not willing to do that! So it was more like a strolling and window shopping trip for me haha! Well, at least I can say I have been here. LOL!

 photo P1180683_zps37a1eff9.jpg

However, foreigners in particular Singaporeans may find the branded outlets here worth the trip. After factoring in the favorable exchange rate, they definitely stand to save substantial amounts compared to shopping in their own country or other even parts of the world.

 photo P1180684_zpsa4683e0d.jpg

I think that building this Johor Premium Outlets in such close proximity to Singapore is one heck of a brilliant idea! Well, to me it's more for Singaporeans than Malaysians really. But of course if you are on the lookout for branded items and have no qualms about spending all your hard earned money, then JPO is the place to go!

 photo P1180686_zpsa77956e6.jpg

The two-storey complex also houses restaurants and cafes.

I took a photo of the large parking lot in front from the first floor.

 photo P1180687_zps68d9bc74.jpg

It looked as if the rain would fall anytime soon, so Jim and I decided it was time to leave.

 photo P1180690_zpsdad8b0f5.jpg

One thing I noticed about JPO - some shops restrict the number of people or customers in their shops. I saw people queuing up outside a Nike shop waiting for their turn to enter even though there were not many customers inside the shop!  I wonder what's the purpose of this practice? To make the customers feel more comfortable shopping there?

 photo P1180691_zps8951c72c.jpg

Well, I definitely do not like to shop in overcrowded places, so maybe it's a good practice. So will I make a second trip to JPO in the future? Possibly, if I ever go to Johor Bahru again. Who knows, I may just do some serious shopping then!

Coming Up Next : A Japanese Dinner At Kirishima Shuzou