The Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) created much interest among many Malaysian shoppers who are still new to the shopping concept. These luxury premium brand outlet format is targeting at a specific group of shoppers hunting for reasonably priced quality and branded items. JPO is the only such outlet in South-East Asia, while 58 other outlets are in the United States, one in Puerto Rico, one in Mexico, eight in Japan and two in South Korea.

The JPO is a 50:50 joint venture between Genting Berhard and Premium Outlets which is the retail outlet division of Simon Property Group Incorporated. Among the brands avaialable at JPO are Armani, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Ermenegildo Zegna, Guess, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and Salvatore Ferragamo. The mall tenant mix was based on the target audience needs, especially within the 10km radius. The second phase of its development will double the number of stores to 130 and a 2,000-room hotel together with a water-theme park and a meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition centre.

Photo Credit: Flickr.

Johor Premium Outlets is one of the many other projects which is under “Iskandar Malaysia” Blueprint. Iskandar Malaysia was formerly known as Iskandar Development Region (IDR) located at is the main southern development corridor in Johor, Malaysia. The Iskandar Malaysia was established on 30 July 2006. The project is administered by Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and was named after the late Sultan of Johor, Almarhum Sultan Iskandar.

The development region encompasses an area of 2,217 square kilometers and includes the city of Johor Bahru and towns of Pontian, Senai, Pasir Gudang and the construction of a new state administrative capital in Nusajaya.