Manchester Designer Outlets

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Out door shopping experience at it’s best. Beautiful views, great eateries and some of the best shopping around.

MANCHESTER DESIGNER OUTLETS CELEBRATES 12th YEAR AS VERMONT SUMMER FESTIVAL SIGNATURE SPONSOR

 
New Website Launched in Advance of Annual, Six-Week Equestrian Competition

WHAT: In celebration of its 12th consecutive year serving as a signature sponsor of the Vermont Summer Festival, Manchester Designer Outlets (MDO) announced today it has unveiled a newly enhanced, state-of-the-art website at www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com. 
Complete with refreshed branding elements along with a brightly renewed tone, the new platform, now optimized for desktop and mobile devices, also features: 
•    MDO store directory and property map 
•    Listing of current sales and limited-time-only offers 
•    MDO special events calendar 
•    VIP Club sign up portal and access to the center’s free, digital VIP Coupon Book 
•    Regional visitor information 
•    Leasing information 
•    And more! 
During the Vermont Summer Festival, event attendees will also find a special QR Code included in their Prize Lists to exclusively access extra saving coupons from MDO participating stores during the 2021 competition. 
Featuring a second-to-none collection of iconic designer and top name brands including Armani Outlet, Eileen Fisher Company Store, Marimekko, vineyard vines, J.Crew Factory, Theory, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Le Creuset and Yves Delorme, among many more, Manchester Designer Outlets’ shoppers enjoy savings up to 70% off regular retail prices every day.  Visit www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com for more information.  

WHERE: Manchester Designer Outlets, 65 Depot Street, Manchester Center, VT  05255

CONTACT: Sue Helondovitch, Strategy + Style Marketing Group, 973-588-3979, sueh@strategyplusstyle.com

MANCHESTER DESIGNER OUTLETS CELEBRATES 12TH YEAR AS VERMONT SUMMER FESTIVAL SIGNATURE SPONSOR

<a href="https://cdn.placewise.com/SSMG/ManchesterDesignerOutlets/files/NewsdayArticle-01.19.23.pdf">Read PDF article here</a>

Newsday | Vermont escapes to take this winter

Access the PDF article here: <a href="https://cdn.placewise.com/SSMG/ManchesterDesignerOutlets/files/ManchesterJournal_20221122_A04_0.pdf">https://cdn.placewise.com/SSMG/ManchesterDesignerOutlets/files/ManchesterJournal_20221122_A04_0.pdf</a>

Manchester Journal | A Flan-tastic Addition, Vermont Flannel comes to Manchester

October 8, 2021

Despite COVID-19 related setbacks, Smugglers' Notch Distillery has emerged stronger than ever, launching a new store as well as two new products, all within the month of September.

Their newest tasting room, located in Manchester, Vermont at the corner of Main Street and Depot Street, and situated amongst Manchester Designer Outlets, has been two and a half years in the works and is the result of “Tireless planning, a solid strategic vision, and a dedicated staff,” according to President and Co-owner of the distillery Jeremy Elliott, who added, “We’re really excited to be bringing SND to a new Vermont location that will let us share our award-winning spirits with even more people.”  Smugglers’ Notch Distillery now has 4 Tasting Room/Retail Sales locations throughout Vermont.

“Manchester Designer Outlets is a beautiful destination to shop, dine and gather together,” said President Lana Hauben.  “As we continue to add more experiential uses to our offering, the exciting addition of Smugglers’ Notch Distillery complements our famed merchant mix and we wish our newest merchant tremendous success as it begins to serve both our regional visitors and permanent residents alike.”

Smugglers’ Notch Distillery’s complete lineup will be available for tastings and sales in the Manchester tasting room, including their latest offering, Maple Gin – hand-crafted and made in small batches from juniper berries, select botanicals, and 100% Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. Light juniper overtones balance the warm maple finish in this rich and complex spirit.

And, vodka fans take note: Smugglers’ Notch Distillery’s original 95 Point Double Gold Award-Winning Vodka is now available for purchase in convenient, economically friendly 1.75 L bottles exclusively through Vermont Liquor Outlets. Same award-winning vodka. Just more of it.



ABOUT SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH DISTILLERY

Smugglers' Notch Distillery offers extraordinary small batch, American-made spirits that have received accolades from both beverage industry connoisseurs and thousands of fans alike. Since launching their flagship Double Gold Award-Winning Vodka back in 2010, they have gone on to craft several award-winning spirits including 802 and Hopped Gin, a Bourbon Barrel-aged Rum, Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Maple Bourbon, a Wheat Whiskey, Rye, Gluten-free Organic Vodka, Moroccan Rose &amp; Grapefruit Vodka, a Double Gold Winning Vermont Maple Cream Liqueur and, most recently, Maple Gin. They have also had limited releases including Maple Rum, Dead Buck Whiskey, and 10th Anniversary Distiller’s Reserve Straight Whiskey. Visit them in Jeffersonville, VT at the distillery or at one of their Vermont tasting rooms to sample their products and hear more about their story. Find more info at: <a href="http://www.smugglersnotchdistillery.com">www.smugglersnotchdistillery.com</a>



ABOUT MANCHESTER DESIGNER OUTLETS (MDO)

Located in the heart of Manchester Center, VT, Manchester Designer Outlets (MDO) was one of the first designer outlet shopping locations in the U.S.  Ben and Lana Hauben developed the center, which opened in 1984.  Today, MDO features an iconic collection of leading designer and top name brands such as Armani Outlet, Eileen Fisher Company Store, theory, vineyard vines Outlet, Michael Kors Outlet, marimekko, TUMI Outlet Store, Le Creuset and Yves Delorme, among many more, where shoppers enjoy everyday savings of up to 70 percent off regular retail.  Fabulous shopping woven into a beautiful New England Village, MDO offers visitors a charming setting to shop, dine, relax and unwind.  Visit <a href="http://www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com">www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com</a> for more information.

Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Shines a Light on What’s Possible for Small Vermont Businesses

WHAT:    Manchester Designer Outlets will kick off Memorial Day Weekend with a special four-day Town Wide Sidewalk Sale event beginning Friday, May 28. 
Featuring a second-to-none collection of leading designer and top name brands including Armani Outlet, Eileen Fisher Company Store, vineyard vines Outlet, J.Crew Factory, Theory, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Le Creuset and Yves Delorme, among many more, Manchester Designer Outlets’ shoppers will enjoy savings beyond the up to 70% off regular retail prices offered every day through Monday, May 31. 
Please visit www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com for a complete store directory along with current sales and offers, special events, driving directions and more.  

WHERE:    Manchester Designer Outlets, 97 Depot Street, Manchester Center, VT  05255

WHEN:     Friday, May 28 through Monday, May 31

CONTACT:    Sue Helondovitch, Strategy + Style Marketing Group

PH: 973-588-3979; email: sueh@strategyplusstyle.com

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND BRINGS EVEN MORE SAVINGS TO MANCHESTER DESIGNER OUTLETS

<a href="https://www.getawaymavens.com/things-to-do-in-manchester-vt/">https://www.getawaymavens.com/things-to-do-in-manchester-vt/</a>

Getaway Mavens | 21+ Mind-Blowing Things To Do In Manchester VT You’ll Love

Coco Goose Brings Classy-But-Comfortable Vibe to Manchester Boutique

Manchester Journal

July 25, 2022

MANCHESTER — Mary Lou Baraw had heard from friends and customers of her boutique in Stowe that she needed to check out Manchester as a potential store location, and expand her business south.

Baraw found what she was looking for — a 4,700-square-foot space at 103 Depot St., as part of the Manchester Designer Outlets portfolio. The space, formerly the home of Bass Factory Outlet, is now home to Coco Goose — a women’s clothing boutique featuring denim, dresses, athleisure wear, handbags and accessories. The boutique, which opened for business on July 8, is a sister store to Green Envy, with locations in Stowe and Burlington.

“It’s probably been a thought for five years,” Baraw said of the encouragement from area customers to open here. “And one day we came down, looked at a few places, and once we came into this location, it just had great energy. We felt at home, and it seemed like if we’re going to do it, that this was the right place to do it.”

The interior of Coco Goose reminds one of a modern take on a great old apartment: comfortable without being shabby; modern and well-appointed without being pretentious.

The retail space has been reinvented with a wide-open floorplan with lots of room between racks. It’s bright, too: There’s exposed high ceilings, and lots of light from the windows and track lighting reflecting off the white painted surfaces. Yet, the clothes are hanging off metal hardware, reminiscent of urban mercantile settings. The dressing rooms are spacious, too.

Manchester Designer Outlets president Lana Hauben loves what Coco Goose has done with the place.

“They opened it up and cleared out the old cases,” she said. “It’s such a pleasurable, lovely experience.”

“We’re thrilled to have Coco Goose come in. We think [Baraw has] done a great job,” she added.

It’s the largest footprint in Baraw’s business — its nearly double her space in Stowe — and she’s made a five-year commitment to the space.

The similarities between Stowe and Manchester don’t end at mountain resort town with a core of local customers, second homeowners and destination or day-trip shoppers, Baraw noticed. They also translate to the kind of clothing those customers are looking for — “a little bit more relaxed, but still very put together.”

“So our focus here is brands. We try to focus on the brands that people are really searching for. And we try to create a selection that represents who we’re reaching out to,” Baraw said. “We’re not dressing up like they do in the city. We’re not wearing suits, but we want to look good and feel good. And feel like we look put together but not that it was so difficult.”

The store’s denim selection is “greater than anyone in New England,” with 40 premium lines in all cuts and styles, she said.

The store has 300 brands total if you drill down to every last detail, but the main focus is on about 150 brands.

“And we really do try to focus on what people are seeking and what’s most important to our customer base, which isn’t just Vermont — it does reach out to New York and Boston and Toronto and Montreal.”

Where Baraw has seen growth is in dresses and event wear. Coming out of the COVID pandemic, there’s “three years of events in one year” on the social calendar for summer and fall, and sales have been brisk, even though Baraw anticipated increased demand.

For folks who prefer online shopping, Coco Goose is also online at <a href="http://shopgreenenvy.com/coco-goose">shopgreenenvy.com/coco-goose</a>.

Why is the Manchester store named Coco Goose when her Stowe and Burlington stores are named Green Envy? Thereby hang multiple tales.

Baraw has an agreement to restrict her use of the Green Envy brand inside Vermont. But she also is in the process of opening a store in Providence, R.I., necessitating the invention of a new brand.

Coco, of course, could refer to fashion icon Coco Chanel. And a goose, in addition to being a rural reference, also points to mercantile and fashion — since goose down is still used to fill pillows and insulate winter jackets.

But it’s simpler than that.

“Honestly, they’re my childhood pets, Coco and Goose,” Baraw said with a smile. Coco was a hamster; Goose was an angel fish; and it was enjoyable to bring back a childhood memory to her entrepreneurial present. “It’s just a fun name.”

A walk around town also helped Baraw see that Manchester, long known for its assortment of national brand factory outlets, is evolving into a broader mix of retail — some national, some Vermont-owned and much of it woman-owned.

“I did take a tour and noticed Vermont Kitchen Supply. Smuggler’s Notch Distillery, the Northshire Bookstore. La Peche. Zippy Chicks ... There’s definitely some local people that have built up nice businesses here. And so that certainly played into my thought that this would be good,” Baraw said.

Hauben said in addition to Coco Goose, the independent and Vermont-owned tenants who are part of MDO’s portfolio include Helmholz Art Gallery, Pastime Pinball Museum, Sabi Mercantile, Depot 62, Depot Street Burgers, The Little Rooster and Coco Goose’s neighbors at Aunt Bonnie’s CBD.

For Hauben, seeing Vermont and woman-owned businesses take a larger presence in MDO’s portfolio makes her think back 39 years, to the day when she and her late husband, Ben Hauben, first opened the doors of the Polo Ralph Lauren outlet for a crowd of about 400 folks. While retail has changed dramatically since those days, it’s also presented an opportunity for entrepreneurs — many of them women — to go into business on a streetscape once dominated by national brands, she said.

Manchester Designer Outlets has itself been a woman-owned and operated business since Lana Hauben and her stepdaughter, Alissa Hauben Appel, stepped up to run the company after Ben Hauben’s passing.

”The silver lining with the retail world changing so much is opportunity to young people to try their hand in a retail Mecca — one we could never afford to give them and they could never afford to have,” Hauben said. “We are thrilled with the ‘new’ retailers, with their beautiful products, their wonderful food, their willingness to work hard to achieve success. That was what America was all about, and it’s good to see that it looks like there is a rebirth of the American work ethic.”

Coco Goose Brings Classy-But-Comfortable Vibe to Manchester Boutique

<a href="https://www.theoutletsatlakegeorge.com/store/LOFT-Outlet/2138935583/deal/Up-to-50-percent-Off-Need-Now-Styles/2138532980/">Click here for PDF version of the article</a>

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Berkshire Magazine | August 2022 
 
Let’s Go Shopping! 
DAY-TRIPPING TO MANCHESTER DESIGNER OUTLETS 
By Anastasia Stanmeyer // Photos By Jimmy Ienner, Jr.

It might be called Manchester Designer Outlets, but it’s not like any designer outlets destination that I’ve ever been to. This sprawling shopping mecca is located within a charming hamlet in the southern part of Vermont, surrounded by the Green and Taconic mountains. It is woven into the fabric of a New England town, with designer brand outlet stores and locally owned boutiques, restaurants, and shops, all taken in stride on a beautiful summer afternoon.

I have been intrigued about Manchester Designer Outlets for a while and decided to make a trip out there with my co-worker, Jen Hines. It was just over an hour away, and taking a drive on country roads was an enjoyable experience in itself. In addition to visiting a location with a promising adventure of shopping, we had the immense pleasure of touring the outlets with the co-founder and president, Lana Hauben. I quickly realized that Lana was very connected to each and every one of the shops, familiar with the names of the managers, owners, and employees and ready to jump in and help a customer or straighten up a dis- play table. Everyone warmly welcomed her, and it truly felt like I was in a small-town shopping area. Which I was.

Our visit began in the outlet’s main office, which didn’t last long because Lana wanted to take us for a ride in her car with a license plate that read, “Shop Vt.” We were more than ready for a tour of the shops on Main Street and Depot Street. On the short drive, Lana gave us the history of Manchester Designer Outlets that began with her husband, Ben. She described the setting in which he stood

at the corner of route 7A and Route 11/30, pointed eastward in 
the direction of Bromley and Stratton mountains, and said, “Is this 57th Street and Fifth Avenue?” That vision of Manchester Designer Outlets along that route materialized in the years that followed, with Polo as the first outlet established in 1983. “Four hundred people showed up for the opening,” recalls Hauben.

It wasn’t long before we were parked and popped into the charming Marimekko Outlet, with a wide array of fun colors and patterns. We were introduced to Will on the floor, who explained to us that we can find clothing, handbags, footwear, and homeware in this store, which is the only Marimekko outlet in the U.S. “We do it all,” says Will. “We were one of the first official lifestyle brands in existence. We came about as a result of the Second World War. There was a huge depression in most places, but especially Finland. The founder, Armi Ratia, wanted to sort of imbue joy into everything in everyday life.”

From there, we stepped into the impressive Armani Outlet on Depot Street, with clothing and accessories that reflect the under- stated elegance of this iconic designer. Lana elaborated on the beginnings of the outlets. “We were very unique in what we did, because we built beautiful, quality buildings, and we got all the great tenants of the world.”

During these past few years, some big-name merchants made way for smaller entrepreneurs to take up their space. “When big business- es went out, that allowed me to put people in at affordable rates,” says Lana. Next stop was Smugglers’ Notch Distillery, whose spirits are made with pure Vermont spring water. The bottles were neatly displayed, and we indulged in tasting what they had to offer—including Maple Bourbon Whiskey, Maple Rum, the Moroccan Rose &amp; Grapefruit Flavored Vodka, and the Maple Cream Liqueur. We 
took advantage of the beautiful day and sat outside, sitting on stools around a whiskey barrel, enjoying the scene and the libations.

Worth a day trip in itself or an overnight excursion is the family-friendly Pastime Pinball—our next stop. “We went for the top 100 games in every decade,” co-owner Beth Friedman explains shortly after we stepped into the arcade. The hands-on museum features 66 pinball machines from 1947 to today. “Everything is ready to play,” says Beth. “There are no coins, no tokens. ‘Free play’ is a setting on a coin-operated game, and it means it's ready to go. So you pay admission at the door, and you’re ready to go.”

The variety of the Manchester Designer Outlets makes it appealing for a wide range of tastes. We pop into the The Little Rooster Cafe, run by owner Anya Lincks. With eight tables and a few counter seats, we were lucky enough to nab an empty table in the Norman Rockwell-esque restaurant. The omelet was definitely a star—fresh, full of veggies with a healthy amount of melted cheese. The casual, inviting atmosphere was a pleasant interlude to charge back up before visiting more shops.

The next shop we visited was the luxury linens brand Yves Delorme—one of Lana’s favorite shops, and I could definitely see why. This is one of four outlet locations, including Charlottesville, Virginia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Hilton Head, South Carolina. The pillows and bed spreads were exquisite, with beautiful prints that add a touch of French flair to any home.

Last on our tour de Manchester Designer Outlets was a stop in one of my favorite brands, TUMI, with classic styles as well as hipster additions such as the Anna Sling. As is apparent in all the shops that we visited, the managers and employees were passionate and incredibly knowledgeable about the products that they were selling. It was as much about the interaction with the customers as it was about making a sale. “We’ve grown really great relationships with many families over the 23 years that we’ve been here,” the manager says. “When you come here, it's an experience.”

It certainly was, and I’m already looking forward to my return.

For navigation directions, use 65 Depot Street, Manchester Center, Vermont. manchesterdesigneroutlets.com
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Berkshire Magazine August 2022 | Let's Go Shopping Feature

<a href="https://cdn.placewise.com/SSMG/files/ManchesterLife2022MDO1-compressed.pdf">Click here for PDF version of article</a>

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