DFO South Wharf

DFO South Wharf is a great shopping destination, especially during the Christmas season and Boxing Day sales, but it’s important to go in with the right expectations. The range of outlet stores is excellent, with popular brands across clothing, sportswear, shoes, and accessories, making it a strong choice if you’re hunting for discounts and end-of-year deals. During Boxing Day and the Christmas holiday period, the discounts are genuinely good. Many stores offer significant markdowns, and if you’re patient and willing to browse, you can find some real bargains. It’s particularly good for sports brands and casual wear. That said, not every store has deep discounts, so it’s worth checking multiple shops rather than buying quickly. Crowds are the biggest factor to consider. During peak times—especially late morning to afternoon on Boxing Day—the place gets extremely busy. Walkways can feel crowded, fitting rooms have long queues, and popular stores can feel chaotic. If you don’t enjoy crowds, this can be overwhelming. The best time to visit during the sales period is early in the morning, ideally right when it opens, or later in the evening if stores are still operating. Weekdays after Boxing Day are also slightly calmer compared to the actual holiday dates. Facilities are good, with plenty of food options nearby at South Wharf and along the Yarra River, which is perfect for taking a break after shopping. The location is convenient, with easy tram access and a pleasant waterfront area to relax once you’re done. Overall, DFO South Wharf is worth visiting during Christmas and Boxing Day sales if you’re focused on bargains and can handle large crowds. Go early, plan ahead, and be prepared for a busy but rewarding shopping experience.

It is a big outlet mall with lots of brand shops and good discounts. It’s nice and easy to walk around. Parking is a bit expensive but you can get discount if you shop. Good place to find deals.

DFO is always fun for a bargain hunt! The Adidas outlet was a standout with some seriously good discounts, scored some great gear for way less than usual. Worth popping in if you’re nearby.

Do not be fooled or lured by the density of this mall on Google maps. The quality of the clothing is not great. Because it is largely outlets, some of the stuff is slightly cheaper, but a lot of it is quite dated or is cheaper knock off stuff that companies make just to sell outlets additionally, the parking is extremely expensive. You should buy one piece of Lindt chocolate for $1.65 so that you can get half off of your parking. That is the wisest decision. You have been warned; you have been educated.

It's always a great place to shop and to visit when in Melbourne. It's a plus that it's close to the city center and around 15 minutes away (including a 5 minute walk) via the city tram. Uber and cab accessible. Lots of dining options inside the mall and even outside along the the wharf.

Really great for shopping sports goods as you have your Nike, Adidas, Puma etc. Also a few places to hunt for supplements and proteins. Its got a cozy food court in the basement 😊

Easy walking round this shopping centre to find loads of bargains from branded retailers that also has a great food court and homewares sections. Would appreciate some seating close to the amenities though.

Not too busy despite school holidays. Clean and good variety of stores. Food court offerings are fresh and fast service. Parking however is near ridiculous per hour if you just want to have a walk around. Shops offer a parking card discount when shopping in-store - make sure to ask for this or you'll be paying double.

This place is amazing. There are many car parks and it is easy to navigate the carpark. Many shops and good food.

Big outlet store with lots of shops. Close to Southern Cross and next to Yarra River. Restaurants with river and city views surround the area. This is one of the outlet shops in the city that used to be my favorite shopping place. I could spend nearly a whole Saturday here before but now that I am more of an outdoor person I prefer the smaller outlet shops.

Serious Christmas bargains here! We got some of the best deals on workout clothes and running shoes. I got a pair of sneakers that were originally $120 for $40. Awesome score! My daughter found some bargains too! Socks at 1/3 the original price and some gifts to bring home to friends. We stopped for a manicure for $20 and they have shops that offer massages and reflexology. A neck massage is only $5. They bus people in here to shop too. At 10 am, it was easy to get around and by noon, it was packed. Bargain shoppers everywhere! They have a pretty good food court too. However, we enjoyed going to the restaurants outside on the dock. A much better view and less crowded there. We liked the shopping here so much that we are going back again for a few things we saw yesterday that we did not get. I especially liked shopping at the Kate Spade store since they had a 1/2 price section filled with specials worth getting. There are a lot more stores than it appears since it is three levels. Make sure to get a map because it is easy to get lost.

Lots of shops to satisfy the retail therapy depending on what your looking for. My favorite DFO in Melbourne

Being hidden behind the exhibition centre it's a bit awkwardly located, but DFO South Wharf can be well worth the effort to seek out. It has by far the biggest selection of running shoes and sportswear stores I've seen at any type of mall anywhere. Almost all the major running shoe brands have stores, some carrying a selection of substantially discounted stock along side their regularly priced new releases. There's also a few stores focusing on clothing for adventure sports. There's also an interesting selection of non-sporting stores stores. The Rivers store has an extensive clothing and footwear range, with some good deals to be had on women's boots and flats. The Typo outlet has a fun selection of discounted quirky stationery and home-wares. If you're after jewellery, take a look in the Lovisa store which offers substantial discounts off the already affordable normal prices.

Newly opened just behind the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre; formerly on Spencer Street now attracts more Melburnians out shopping on weekends; and especially on the public holidays when the retail outlets conveniently go on sale. This is where you can eat and do your normal clothes shopping, and you can also go shopping for furniture and white goods here. Ideal to sleep in first on a weekend, because when I headed to the furniture stores just to buy a couple more small items in decorating my city pad; the stores did not open until 10am. Not a great place to be hanging around to buy furniture. DFO is massive here, yet it is quite popular among locals and visitors to Melbourne. Mornings are the best times to generally go shopping; because the afternoons is when nearly all of Melbourne is out in force here: it gets hectic: even in the food court area: you would be hard pressed to find a good seat. Maybe in my eyes it is slightly overrated; it was great if DFO was still in Spencer Street; however it is better at South Wharf so that furniture can be sold and so that ample car parking can also be provided.

A visit Direct Factory Outlet (aka DFO) at South Wharf can be a pretty terrifying and bewildering prospect. As someone that doesn't really love shopping, whenever I'm here I find myself asking "WHY, WHY did you think it would be ok?!" It's always crowded, noisy, filled to the brim with tourists and hungry shoppers. It's far from a pleasant shopping experience. Stock wise, it's incredibly hit and miss. You'll either walk out with heaps or you'll leave with nothing, hours of your life missing. The bargains can be pretty good, but I would advise knowing what you want and having a good idea of what the full retail is to really nab a bargain, as I have seen some that compare or are even more expensive than the regular retailers' sales. I like it for things like Peter Alexander PJs and classic style shoes where seasonality doesn't matter. Black shoes are always a winner. Or if you're travelling and need to buy out of season it's handy. The food court is pretty lousy, but as South Wharf now has plenty of places to eat and drink, there's lots of options for escaping for a much needed beer when it all gets a bit too much. Tip: Ask for parking validation if you buy something, you'll get a significant discount.

DFO is THE place to go if you want bargains galore! Oops, I don't think they got the memo... I'm disappointed about 95% of time whenever I visit a DFO centre. The only things that ever seem to be reduced is the crap nobody wanted earlier in the season. Why would we want it now? But then there was today. For the lady readers - two pairs of Joanne Mercer shoes for $80. Not each - for both. Bargain!!!! Nearly enough for me to return the other pair of shoes I had just purchased at Novo (nearly....don't judge me!). Overall I'm never in a rush to come here but today gave me a glimmer of hope. Maybe it's one of those places you need to visit regularly to guarantee a bargain. Now if you will excuse me, I have some shoes to break in.

Like so many others who come to Australia from the States, I was a bit shocked by the prices for some things, particularly clothes. So I'm pretty happy that the DFO exists. While the prices still don't compare to what I'm used to, everything here is much cheaper than other malls around Melbourne. There's also a wide range of shops selling everything from furniture to clothing to kitchen stuff, so it also serves as a one-stop shopping destination. Its strength, however, seems to be in clothes - there are heaps of stores selling designer styles at great prices. The location is super convenient - only a short walk from the Convention Centre tram stop and the CBD.

Every year when we come to melbourne we come to DFO - the discount stores and prices draw us in, the casual atmosphere and set up keep us there. To start with, the food court has lots of places to choose from meaning we can never decide haha! Even with my pickiness we manage ok! The stores and separated into different levels - the top part is the homemaker Centre with places to buy furnishings and home stuff (we generally ignore this level haha) I love going to new balance to get cheap trainers that we cannot get in SA. The parent facilities here are good, and much better than most centres we go to. There is plenty of parking too.

Only come here if you're looking for a particular item. Otherwise, the DFO will eat you up and spit you out. This is a dark, cavernous mall, the kind where you lose all sense of time and direction. There's also a ton of crap to wade through to get to the gems. But to be clear: There are amazing bargains to be had at this place, particularly if you're looking for brand name athletic shoes like Vans, Addidas, or New Balance. I bought a great pair of New Balance sneakers here for 60 bucks. Regular price was 160 dollars. Boom! At 50 US dollars you couldn't get it cheaper in an outlet mall back in Cali. Totally stoked. Come here prepared and leave happy.

It doesn't take much to empty your wallet at DFO. As a new Melbourne resident i almost wet myself at the thought of indulging in the DFO. Located near the Crown Casino and Exhibition Building the DFO is the shopping that dreams are made of. Once you enter the DFO you will find a circular rotation of shopping strip that will make your knee's weak. The collection of stores here are so rad that you will not know where to start and the fact that everything is discounted and ridiculously priced will just make you even more keen to shop! On my first shopping adventure here i literally shopped till i dropped, I bought 'High Octane' singlets for $10, Witchery business shirts for $25 (down from over $100) and a whole assortment of garments from my favourite store in DFO called 'Flockhart St'. Flockhart St carries brands like 'Superdry' and 'Mooks', I picked up Mooks shirts and singlets for under $20 and wicked Hi-tops for $50 each! There's also a food court in DFO which you can rest easy at when the hunger takes value over the shopping! My sister and mother shall be visiting me this weekend and this will be our first stop on the schedule.

I found this building to be a little strange - and very dark in places. I was so excited about going to the DFO - for all of the outlet shops that we dont have in Adelaide. However, I was a bit dissapointed - I was really happy to go to Kate Hill - but other than that - there really wasnt a lot there that I could shop at - there was no plus sized clothing at all (not impressed) and the atmosphere, I found, to be very dark and dingey. Probably would not go back.

DFO: A shopping saviour in the city. Saves me driving all the way to either Essendon or Moorabbin for a quick hit of shopping and means I can do it in my lunch break. They have most brands I'm looking for (with the obvious exception of Marcs and Saba which I crave if you want these, go to the Essendon Airport DFO). The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of public transport that drops you off without an at least 5 minute walk. They need a little golf cart or something to ferry us from the tram stop to the entrance. That would be cool.

I don't mind it here, but for some reason I always choose not to go here. On the odd occasion I have attended, as its located right next to my apartment. I think they have some decent shops in here, so you could always get a new outfit or as i like going for anaconda or nike store. I dont particularly like the layout of this store, its seems like so much room with nothing in it. Jb Hi-Fi hidden at the top level next to some boring furniture and carpet stores. I kinda just go here, get what I need and leave. I don't find the foodcourt very incising to eat at either.

I must say, I did not even know this mall was here until a week back when I saw it on television (yes, I have been in Melbourne for a few months). The mall is mostly outlet type stores with a fair selection of products - everything from shoes to clothing and finally, furniture. The furniture shops are abundant and the selections are above average. The only issue is that the mall hours reflect 9pm on Fridays and all of the furniture stores were closing at 7pm. Unfortunately, some stores lost out on some sales today as we arrived at 650 pm and were 'persuaded to leave' with doors closing and gates falling. I do have to say this: if you are looking for good furniture deals, you need to head out to DFO.

Grab a bargain. Stock changing regularly so check In when you can and you will find something sensational.

Out of all the DFO's in Melbourne this is far the best one to go for shopping. Just a short walk from the main CBD over the Yarra. Decent food court and plenty of shops to unleash damage on your credit card.

A shopping outlet mall within a short walk from the centre of town. The DFO has shops split on a few levels

8 $ an hour to park at a shopping mall where they want you to go and spend money... ridiculous! If you want people to go to ur mall then make it affordably accessible.

Bit of shopping, sadly most the sizes are extra large in the men's clothing so don't get as greater selection as the woman do. Having said that.... most the sizes these days are made so small some of the larger sizes actual are mediums, so it's worth looking.