Johor Premium Outlets Malaysia Review

Johor Premium Outlets Malaysia Shopping Attraction Review

Johor Premium Outlets Malaysia

These days the state of Johor seems to be the highly invested with tourist attractions in Malaysia. Many travellers & Malaysian vacation maker have differing views of of these new places of interest in Johor. Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) is among the most talked about & publicized Johor tour attractions recently. Other Johor attractions include Legoland Malaysia, Puteri Harbour with the Little Red Cube, Sanrio Hello Kitty Town, Pulai Hill Recriational Forest (Gunung Pulai), Danga Bay, Tanjung Piai & many more.
Although there seem to be a lot of talk on Johor Premium Outlets but there really isn't much information about it. To begin with Johor Premium Outlets or JPO is the new shopping attractions located in Kulaijaya next to Senai, Johor a flagship town of the Iskandar Malaysia Project. Showcasing major designer brands like Burberry, Coach, GAP, Armani, DKNY, CK Calvin Klein, Adidas, Nike & more   JPO is part of the Premium Outlets Centers chains which are mostly concentrated in United States. Outside of the States it is currently only available in Japan, Korea, Mexico & of course the Johor Premium Outlets in Malaysia.

Location of Johor Premium Outlets

"How to go to Johor Premium Outlets, Malaysia?" Simply put if you on the North - South Highway exit via order of Exit 253, Exit 304 & Exit 302A. You'll see road signs directing you to JPO from there on. Its not far from the exit so keep your eye on road signs on the left. For those on the 2nd Singapore Link exit via order of Exit 304 & Exit 302A instead.

There are also bus service available via JB Sentral (bus JPO1) & JBCIQ (bus JPO2).

On my trip to Johor Premium Outlet I stayed in The Pulai Springs Resort, hence the map route. By car my trip to JPO only takes about 17mins (18km approx). 

Johor Premium Outlets location map

JPO location on a larger scale with my route from Pulai Springs

Johor Premium Outlets as Malaysia shopping attraction / Johor place of interests

Johor was never really a state known for Malaysia tourism. However with the Iskandar development & Khazanah Nasional injection of capital to boost Johor tourism. We are now seeing many new place of attraction such as LEGOLAND Malaysia, Puteri Harbour, JPO & 2 future theme parks coming up in the Deasru area. 

Johor Premium Outlets from parking zone

So, how does JPO fare as Johor Place of interests Or as a shopping paradise? 

Well me being a Malaysia I believe my opinion may be more relevant to Malaysian travelers or shoppers. 1st off, my impression of JPO is they could have really done better with the shopping center concept & constructions. Not that I think the aesthetic or design floor plan was bad, anyway who am I to pass judgement on that. However, Malaysia weather being hot & humid really needs a more enclosed mall with air conditioning. The street style open air concept is really not as ideal for a good overall shopping experience. I guess we were lucky it was not raining that day otherwise I can't imagine how we could have get into & around the outlets without getting a bit wet. I'm don't know if all the Premium Outlets has this same open concept but seriously no covered car parks for a branded retail outlets? JPO being a Genting - Simon joint venture I do see some resemblance to some other Genting developments in this development designs. However I really can't see the logic of sacrificing such important part of shopping experience just to reduce construction costs.

The Outlets:

Burberry in Johor Premium Outlets

DKNY in JPO

Open terrace concept of JPO

Apart from the lacking in ambiance the outlets are quite ok & there are a wide variety of major brands & sufficient F&B outlets (the usual Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Baskin Robins & etc) available. If you have done some searching for JPO on the internet then you'll see some opposing views about this shopping attraction. I feel in a way both of those views are true depending on what kind of shoppers are you.

My wife & daughter shopping around

I feel JPO does have a variation of branded outlets. I'm sure the key question is that are they really selling at a good bargain? Well, like I've said the answer is Yes & No. Yes, if you are not looking for latest designer release. No, if you keep your wardrobe current with the fashion trends. I personally am not a updated in the fashion world. However I do believe that fashion products should loose a significant amount of their value as they seasoned. That said I still think you can still find good bargains from Johor Premium Outlets, especially when it comes to children apparel. Reason being there are some significantly good bargains for off season & discontinued apparel with limited stocks. Adults may find less choices when it comes to making use these clothing even if they can accept the least up to date designs as the average sizes are usually out of stocks. Children on the other hand may still be able to grow into the size if its bigger.
Both my wife & I are not really shoppers but we did find quite a few good buys (mostly for my year + daughter).

Johor Premium Outlets view

In terms of F&B / food outlets there isn't exactly a lot of choices but just a sufficient number of them so that you can find something to bite. We had out lunch at the food court which seems decent externally. However after touring around it, we find the usual variety but there isn't really many attractive choices. Grab a bite anyway as we were starving not getting any breakfast earlier. A note to the Johor Premium Outlets managements is to really look into the flies problems more seriously. I see that they are aware of the problems but the fly traps & the double layer entrance is apparently still not enough.  

JPO food courts

In summary, thou Johor Premium Outlets may not be best shopping paradise it is still a place worth visiting for some bargain hunting while heading north from Johor. For those thinking of visiting JPO the center is open Monday to Sunday 10am -10pm.

Our vacation home located nearby are in Pulai Springs Golf Resort. Looking for hotel near Johor Premium Outlet? Try out our Johor holiday home.