banana republic vs banana republic factory

banana republic vs banana republic factory

by Dylan Baker
Updated on

Banana republic is one of the brands in the gap umbrella and it is known for providing good quality fashion-forward clothing.

It is one of the most popular brands among men for shopping basics and it is loved by the fashion enthusiasts because of its stylish designs.

If you are a fan of classical men’s fashion then you definitely need to check out banana republic if you haven’t already.

They operate more than 500 stores in the US and other than the regular banana republic store they also have outlet stores called the banana republic factory.

But most people don’t know about the banana republic factory and how it differs from the banana republic stores. So in this article, we will tell you everything that you need to know about the banana republic factory and how it’s different from the banana republic.

Is Banana Republic Factory related to the Banana Republic?

Yes, the banana republic factory is related to the banana republic, they are the factory outlet stores of the banana republic.

Factory outlet stores are set up by brands to sell altered, second quality, or previous season’s stock usually at a cheaper price.

Banana republic factory stores are factory outlet stores of the banana republic where they sell products at a cheaper price compared to the regular stores.

What’s the difference between the Banana Republic and Banana Republic Factory?

Banana republic is the main outlet of the brand and banana republic factory is the factory outlet of the brand where they sell the products that don’t move in the main store and now they have also started selling lower quality products there as well.

The products that are made specifically for the banana republic factory are significantly worse in terms of quality as compared to the regular products.

The products that are not moving in the regular store also sell at the banana republic factory at lower prices but they are difficult to find and they gets sold out very fast.

Is Banana Republic Factory different quality?

The original concept of the outlet stores was to move products that were not selling well at the regular store or to sell the remaining stock of the previous season at cheaper rates. So at one time, you were buying basically the exact same products at those stores just the stocks were a little older.

Soon the outlet store became really popular and they started doing big business so they were not able to keep up with the demand as the stocks were very limited.

So the companies started making lower quality goods that looked the same but weren’t.

when you’re buying a shirt or a t-shirt, the main store might be selling shirts with a higher thread count for example  500 thread count but the factory outlet stores could be selling a similar or identical-looking product but it only has a lower thread count like 350 thread count. 

The same is true in the case of the banana republic factory they started off selling the products from previous seasons but as the demand increased they have also started selling lower quality products in factory outlets.

Now, a lot of products in the banana republic factory stores are poor quality products, there are some products that come from the main outlet.

Is Banana Republic Factory lower quality?

Yes, the banana republic factory has products of lower quality as compared to the regular banana republic outlets. There are also some last season products available as well but they are rare to find these days and get sold out very fast. 

Banana republic factory materials, even when using the same textile, are notably thinner and of worse quality and Construction is weaker as well

The country of origin for the mainline products is usually China whereas most of the products of the banana republic factory are made in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh (both of which are cheaper/less regulated).

And finally, the materials of the Banana republic factory are typically made with more or purely synthetics. for instance, the pants that are sold at the banana republic factory contain no wool.

Overall, I think the banana republic factory quality is somewhere between Gap and Old Navy.

The one caveat is that you can occasionally find mainline merchandise at a Factory store. It’s quite rare to find these days but can yield some impressive bargains.

The Bottom Line:

Banana republic factory is the factory outlet stores of the banana republic brand where they started off selling their unsold stock from the previous season or the products that doesn’t move in the regular store but now as the demand has grown they have started selling lower quality products at those stores so you should be careful when shopping from banana republic factory.

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About the author

Dylan Baker

Dylan is a Men's fashion and image consultant, He is also the man behind Dapperclan. He is extremely passionate about fashion and wants to help men style and look better.

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