Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., along with its subsidiaries, is an owner and operator of factory outlet centers in the United States. The Company is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on developing, acquiring, owning, operating and managing factory outlet shopping centers. As of December 31, 2008, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. owned 30 outlet centers, with a total gross leasable area (GLA) of approximately 8.8 million square feet. These factory outlet centers were 97% occupied and contained over 1,900 stores, representing approximately 370 store brands. The Company also operated and had partial ownership interests in three outlet centers totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet.