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The History and Vision Behind Silver Sands Factory Stores

What started as an empty shopping center and a vision held by one man has become the nation's largest designer outlet center.

Silver Sands Factory Stores, located just east of Destin, Fla., offers over 100 factory direct stores and some 450,000 square feet of retail space filled with designer merchandise at up to 75 percent off retail price. The five million plus shoppers a year can choose from such stores as Polo Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Jones New York, Bose, Coach, Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, Lenox, Nike and Reebok - just to name a few.

To date, five phases have been developed, which is a far cry from where visionary developer Keith Howard began. What he saw well before Silver Sands' 1992 opening was the potential to capture an exploding market of vacationers and permanent residents along Florida's soon-to-be-discovered Emerald Coast near Destin.

Howard took approximately three years to study the feasibility of a designer factory store center being built in an area that had a small population base, but a large and growing tourist market. At first, few saw the validity of Howard's notion, and he literally went "door to door" with major designers to convince them the vision was true. Little by little, though, they came on board, each reaping the profits of the idea that Howard saw so clearly.

Silver Sands Factory Stores opened in August of 1992 with 25 stores occupying its first phase of 84,000 square feet. Some of these stores included Dansk, Donna Karan, Nautica and Jones New York.

Phase II opened in July of 1994 with 17 new stores, increasing the number of stores to 42 and adding 48,800 feet in square footage. The additions of Calvin Klein, Etienne Aigner, Brooks Brothers and Big Dog increased and diversified shopping options for the 2 million locals and tourists who shopped at the center during 1994.

Within one year, in March 1995, the third phase of Silver Sands Factory Stores held its Grand Opening celebration. Twenty-one new stores and 73,564 square feet were added. Kenneth Cole, Ellen Tracy, GAP, Greg Norman Golf, Bally, and Lenox were some of the stores taking place in the Grand Opening. With a new total of 63 stores, Silver Sands had established itself as a "Shopping Holiday" on the Emerald Coast. Within 1995, the numbers of visitors increased to 3 million.

Phase IV, the largest phase to open in the center with 46 stores, launched in June 1996, shortly after Hurricane Opal impacted The Emerald Coast. Along with Coach, Bose, GH Bass, Hartmann and Dooney and Bourke opened Morgan's Family Entertainment, a 50,000 square-foot dining, family entertainment and arcade complex. This phase set Silver Sands Factory Stores ahead of all other shopping centers in the Southeast with a total of 111 stores and a total of 380,000 square-feet of designer outlet shopping, dining and entertainment.

Memorial Day of 1999 saw the Grand Opening of Phase V and the addition of Black and Decker, Mikasa, Nike, GNC and Johnson Murphy Shoes, as some of the 13 new stores. With this opening, Silver Sands Factory Stores became the largest designer outlet center in the nation (67,000 ft²) and ranked #18 with ORMA (the Outlet Retail Merchant's Association).

In the Summer of 2001, Silver Sands saw a record number of visitors and moved up in the ORMA ranking to #13 of 278 outlet centers. The commitment of acquiring the nation's most desirable designer stores has always been, and remains true today, the key to the center's success.

In all of Howard's development projects, ranging from upscale residential communities to commercial parks and retail ventures, he sees that aesthetics and community appeal are maintained. This is particularly noticeable at Silver Sands Factory Stores, which offers a particularly inviting shopping atmosphere with the conveniences of abundant parking and covered walkways that allow shoppers to leisurely tour the center.

Silver Sands Factory Stores contributes to the local economy by providing jobs for over 2000 employees and by attracting over 5 million shoppers a year, boosting the local tax base. However, the center's community involvement best demonstrates Silver Sands' commitment to the area.

Silver Sands Factory Stores supports community businesses that foster growth and progress in local schools and churches, Business and Tourist Development, non-profit civic organizations and charities and the Arts. The sampling of Silver Sands' commitment to the community shows why Howard's success is no accident. He takes community involvement just as seriously as he takes his projects, and the entire Emerald Coast benefits from his generosity and vision.

A vacation unto itself, Silver Sands Factory Stores offers choices galore and an enjoyable setting just right for that shopping getaway. Coupled with world famous beaches, Silver Sands Factory Stores makes the Emerald Coast the complete vacation destination.

Silver Sands is conveniently located eight miles east of Destin on U.S. Hwy 98 near Sandestin® Golf and Beach Resort. For more information, call the center office at (850) 654-9771.