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Europe’s fashion outlet centers, Pt. 2 (updated): Ultra-luxury at (almost) affordable prices in Spain and Italy

Our first installment on Europe’s fashion outlet centers was – to put it mildly – incredibly well received, with more than 1 million page views from more than 120 countries. (It got more than 60,000 social media touches alone!)

SPAIN INCREASINGLY IS WHERE THE ACTION IS

Which we get … everyone loves a bargain. And expats tend to want more than the brands they loved at home.

They also want to check out high-end luxury European brands they might only have read about in Vanity Fair and Vogue such as Bottega Veneta, Loro Piana, Marni and Brunello Cucinelli.

So, we’re finally getting around to updating Part 2, and there’s been a lot happening since we first posted more than a year ago.

The dominant players – McArthurGlen and Chic Outlet Shopping (both based in London) – are expanding their properties or are building new ones. By our guestimate, McArthurGlen alone has invested about 300 million euros since 2018 just on expansions in Italy and the Netherlands.

What’s most amazing is the popularity of the high-end fashion outlets across Europe against the backdrop of declining brick-and-mortar retail sales in the United States as e-commerce grows. In the U.S., malls are closing and fashion retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Rue21 are crashing and burning.

In Europe, which has far fewer square meters of retail compared to the U.S, shopping outlets for high-end bargains, is only growing in popularity. From our personal experience in the Netherlands and France, this is really about a superior user experience. Fashion outlets here in Europe are architecturally well executed, interesting little retail villages (especially in Italy) compared to cheap, sterile strip malls in the U.S.

On the commerce side, just as most of the ultra-luxury consumer goods companies are owned by a few conglomerates such as LVMH and Richemont, McArthurGlen Designer Outlets and Chic Outlet Shopping own the majority of fashion outlet centers.

U.S.-based companies including Simon Properties, based in Indianapolis, had plans to jump into Europe. But we’re thinking they have their own issues at home right about now.

What we missed with the first post was that while outlets are huge in the Netherlands, France and this part of Europe, Spain is increasingly the destination in terms of raw numbers, with more centers either planned or under construction. There are five outlets just in the Barcelona area including at least two Mango factory outlets. Italy also has a lot of fashion centers, especially around Milan and Rome, and a notable addition in Turin. (See below.)

We’re focusing on Italy in this installment because we omitted Serravalle in favor of The Mall in Tuscany in our original post, and because Italy is the fashion center of the world.

So, get your MasterCard and chip cards from Euro banks warmed up because it’s pretty hard to use those American Express Platinum Cards in Europe.

ITALY

The Mall Firenze and The Mall Sanremo

We’re grouping these together as one entry because both are owned by Kering, the giant Paris-based luxury brand owned by François Pinault, one of Europe’s richest men. Kering owns a full portfolio of the most chi-chi apparel companies including Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Alexander McQueen.

Because these fashion outlet malls are owned by Kering, those fashion brands are integrated into the Mall inventories. But there are also other non-Kering brands including Armani, Loro Piana, Tods and several boutique brands – we counted 35 in all.

Are there bargains? Well, define “bargain.” If you want a discount over the Bottega Veneta on Melrose in LA, yeah, there are bargains. This is not the place to shop for hoodies or the latest Vans. This is a supremely upscale shopping experience that includes a more inviting setting and design a magnitude better than that outlet mall in Nowheresville, Indiana.

Okay, you can get good prices on last season’s couture. But the the point of these two luxury outlets is the experience, and that Instagrammable experience includes minimalist stores, spas, limo services and high-end dining.

Now, full disclosure: the fact that this isn’t an everyman/everywoman experience gets The Mall Firenza and The Mall Sanremo dinged on TripAdvisor, each getting four out of five star ratings and complaints that “there are no bargains here.” Although many note that prices are hundreds, even thousands, of euros below full retail at the Kering stores in, say, London.

Many reviews include observations that “unless you’re into high fashion, this isn’t for everyone. But (my) partner got a beautiful pair of boots and hand bag for less than the retail of the boots alone in the UK from Karl Lagerfeld.”

So, expect beautiful apparel and accessories with prices that reflect their quality.

Valmontone near Rome

Italian media rank this as not just the most popular fashion outlet near Rome (and there are a bunch) but the most popular in Italy. The center has recorded as many as 750,000 visitors in one month, mostly due to its proximity to Rome. Valmontone does have a mix of affordable and mid-range luxury brands in its 180 stores. It also has entertainment in the form of a Summer festival, mostly singers and comics (in Italian, of course.)

There are the High Street regulars including Benetton, Tommy, Replay and Jack & Jones. But most of the stores here are contemporary Italian brands such as Gaudi, KOCCA, Sonny Bono (we’re not making this up) and premium brands such as Bottega del Sarto and a Barbuti menswear shop if you simply must have couture. But missing in action are the big Italian brands including Armani and Zegna.

Recent reviews from TripAdvisor rank the outlet at four out of five stars, with 1,332 total reviews.

Most reviews echo Michelle D, who writes, “Excellent shopping location close to Rome for both adults and children. Great food available too. Large variety of shops available, jewellery, clothing, homeware, kitchen shops. Great spot!”

This mall is operated by Promos, with the underlying owners including Grundbesitz Europa Open Fund of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.  The center covers over 40,000 square meters and includes parking for 3,000 cars.

Designer Outlet La Reggia, near Caserta and Naples

This 11-year-old center – part of the giant McArthurGlen portfolio, is the largest fashion outlet center in Southern Italy, and it just got a lot larger. The opening of the 20 million euro Phase III in October, 2021, added 25 stores, the third expansion in its brief history, and the center now has 32,000 meters square (almost 350,000 square feet, or eight acres of selling floor,) up from 26,600 meters square.

La Reggia now has a total of 160 stores including most of the High Street brands such as Nike, Superdry and Vans. But it also has uniquely Italian designers such as Liu Jo, Falconeri Cashmere, Gutteridge, Harmont and Blaine and Elisabetta Franchi.

So, if you can’t find it here, you’re probably not going to find it anywhere.

Recent reviews from TripAdvisor rank the outlet at four out of five stars, with 1,163 total reviews.

• Barbara from Ireland gave it five stars. She commented, “Very friendly staff, some amazing food restaurants, certainly worth a visit.”
Frances L wrote that she reluctantly accompanied her friend, “as my previous experience with outlets in Italy had been disappointing. But, no, this centre was excellent! Well designed so that you were able to go into all the shops. Discounts were good, lots of designer labels and plenty of seats when you needed a rest.”
Maria S. from Corfu commented that it was “pleasant by pricy.”

About McArthurGlen:

London-based developer has 26 Designer Outlets in 10 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain. The company reported about 4.5 billion in top-line revenue for 2020, placing it among the largest commercial real estate developers in Europe ranked by revenue along with Lunderbergöretagen AB, based in Stockholm, and Covivio based in Metz, France. The developer is a joint venture between London-based McArthurGlen Chairman Joey Kaempfer, who is American, and Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. Their fashion discount concept claims that most goods are 70-percent below the original retail price.

The company is planning new centers in Paris and Remscheid, near Düsseldorf.

Franciacorta Outlet Village in Rodengo Saiano (Brescia, Italy)

This is one of the newer and larger outlet centers in the very competitive Northern Italy outlet scene … and it got a facelift back in 2018. Franciacorta Outlet Village expanded – 5,000 meters square of buildings, 30 new retail units, an elaborate new playground and a regional tourist information center. That takes the center out to more than 38,000 m2, or about 9.5 acres, with a total of about 200 stores.

Those new stores include a whole bunch of Italian fashion brands, so let’s dive in:

Romeo Gigli, an haute couture brand with prices to match. You’ve probably never heard of Romeo Gigli, but he’s one of the most influential of the contemporary Italian designers, and his stuff sells out fast … even the 1,800 euro patchwork denim jumpsuits! This is on the other end of the spectrum from Brunello Cucinelli’s understated approach.

Elena Miró, an upscale women’s fashion brand that focused on women “with fuller figures who wear shapely sizes.”

Angelico, an Italian brand focused on mid-range men’s apparel.

Cinzia Rocca, a mid-to-upper range women’s designer brand.

PINKO, an upper-range, high-fashion indie brand for young and young-ish women.

Franciacorta Outlet Village also has all the usual suspects including Tommy Hilfiger, Champion workout gear and there are emerging brands such as Napapijri, the Italian outdoor brand whose bright colors are kind of a thing with the hip-hop generation.

The news release states that SOLIDS, a Milan-based architectural firm, designed the extension to echo the original village design, which has a circular “square” at its center with its restaurants.

From the release:

As SOLIDS architects Gregg Brodarick and Stefano Giubileo explain: “Our goal was to enrich the
visitors’ experience inside the outlet with a new visual landscape punctuated by characteristic and
well recognizable architectural episodes like the Galleria, an elegant commercial street crowned by
a delicate iron and glass covering on the model of many notable 19th century examples, and others
inspired by the real architectures existing in the territory of Franciacorta as the centrally planned
structure of the Baptistery, whose view is framed by the new entrance to the Village, and the Tower,
as a new vertical reference point visible from afar.”

So this outlet fashion center is meant to give shoppers an experience, and in return, the shoppers stick around. Voilà, as the French say.

Recent reviews from TripAdvisor range from stellar to meh (there are 757 English reviews) though most of the reviews are in the good range:

Reviewed by Aurelija Ok from Lithuania, July 16, 2018, via mobile, five stars:

One of the best I have shopped in. Definitely one of the best outlet mails with amazing value in July. I’ve been four different times and it continues to grow and get better and better.

Reviewed by Martin S on September 1, 2018, via mobile, three stars out of five:

Same same same. The huge complex hides alot of stores with different quality. But spend a few hours here and you will see that there is alot of the same things in the stores. Overall it is an ok shopping opportunity and there is a lovely gelateria that makes top notch cones.

Torino Outlet Fashion Village, Torino (Turin), Italy

Torino Outlet Fashion Village is one of the newer outlets in Europe, open for about three years. It’s also one of the few that made the architectural mags with its clean, ultra-modern design by celebrity architect Claudio Silvestrin rather than the faux-classic buildings at other outlets.

(TOFV also made Italian news websites when 8,000 people turned out in July, 2017 to apply for jobs!)

One of the more notable features is the 111-meter-tall minimalist spire that beckons to shoppers searching for luxury bargains.

Once they get to Torino Outlet Fashion Village, they’ll find a large center with 90 shops arranged along two open-air streets with a 290-meter-long promenade. Among those 90 stores are some stellar brands.

We’re going to start with our favorites including Armani Isaia, Zegna, Jil Sander and Malo sweaters.

There are hipper brands such as Jacob Cohën handmade jeans and couture house Frankie Morello and Harmont&Blaine

More affordable offerings including Bottega del Sarto for men,

Finally, there are lots and lots of shoes including Cesare Paciotti as well as brands you see pretty much everywhere including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Desigual.

The real reason to go – outside of getting a shot at discounted Italian brands – is the architecture. You can read about architect Silvestrin’s approach here.

The design is pretty revolutionary, using the highest grade local building materials in a tranquil setting outside noisy Torino is meant to make you want to linger longer so you’ll spend more. Hey, that’s good business.

The center is owned by Arcus Real Estate based in Milan. Arcus executives have announced that starting late this fall, Phase 2 will take Torino Outlet Factory Village to 32,000m2, or 8 acres, from 20,000m2 now, with 50 additional stores.

Recent review from TripAdvisor: (There are only 6 English reviews out of 289)

Modern outlet center – 3 stars (1 week ago via mobile)

Very modern, well-designed outlet center with some interesting shops. We particularly like the high-end brands such as Gucci. Gucci has a very nice collection for an attractive price in their outlet store, although you shouldn’t expect ultra exceptional discounts there.

Another interesting store is Richard Gionori for luxury china. We knew the brand very well already and we had just before visited their beautiful regular store in Firenze. In their Torino outlet store we got a very interesting deal on some plates.

Serravalle Designer Outlet, Serravalle, Italy

North of Genoa and an hour from Milan, Serravalle Scrivia was the first “village-style” fashion outlet in Italy, and McArthurGlen’s first foray into the country ca. 2000. In 2017, the outlet got a 115 million euro expansion, exceeding 50,000m2 (12 acres!) Now, it’s billed as the largest in Europe.

This is Italy, so Gucci, Prada and Armani are among the 300 brands. But there are also the crème de la crème of Italian fashion houses you don’t typically see at the other outlet centers including Brioni, Canali and Corneliani. There are also multiple shoe retailers such as Giuseppe Zanotti, A. Testoni and Bally.

Finally, there are couture/bespoke brands most Americans have never heard of including Cinzia Rocca and Bluemarine.

Welcome to the world of 1,000 euro coats and 600 euro shoes. The heavily discounted world … McArthurGlen’s tagline for its centers is “up to 70-percent off.”

OR, you can head to the Ralphie store and get 20 euro tees and 60 euro jeans.

But you didn’t come all the way to Italy for that ….

Recent reviews from TripAdvisor:

Reviewed 1 week ago via mobile

Great place for shopping, with lots of brands. It was an easy 90 mins drive from Agrate where we were based for work. The place was huge, but well designed. WIFI is available. Food carts and proper cafes and restaurants when one is hungry. Playground for the kids or take them to the toy store. There is a tax refund counter…

2 of 5 bubblesReviewed 3 weeks ago

We visited this Outlet every time we visited Milan. A number of bus operators offer transportation from Milan city centre, making it quite convenient for shoppers. The customer service office at the Outlet sometimes offer 10% discount to foreign visitors for certain brands so worthwhile to check it out. The outlet offers premium as well as mid range brands, but the premium brand shops at The Mall near Florence are bigger and have better merchandise. This year we found a Tax Refund Office new at the Outlet. However, it does not refund in Euro (exchange losses) and charges a big admin fees. It is now much easier to do tax refund at the Malpensa airport.

Fidenza Village, Fidenza, Italy

Okay, Northern Italy is where this gets serious.

Fidenza Village is an hour south of fashion Mecca Milan, so this is the real deal. The center has all the luxury brands along with a few surprises including an outlet for Belstaff, the British company that makes adventure gear, leather jackets and cruising apparel for motorcyclists, and Beretta, which sells ultra-traditional hunting jackets and tweeds under the brand of the Italian gunmaker. (No guns, though.)

What sets this fashion outlet center apart from the others is an amazing selection ranging from new, exciting to traditional and super high-quality brands including:

• Elisabetta Franchi

• Etro

• Maliparmi

• Zadig & Voltaire

Also home furnishings from Callefi and Frette (our personal favorite) and lots and lots of shoes including Jimmy Choo. This is all stuff you’re never, ever going to see at the mall.

Come here and find out why there’s a reason Italian fashions have the reputation of being the best in the world. Oh, and bring a lot of money.

Many of the TripAdvisor reviews were from shell-shocked tourists:

Reviewed October 19, 2016

Often outlet malls have cheap made for outlet malls clothing, but not this one. All high quality and from recent season. Restrooms are superb, clean and private. They are still expanding and I wished they had a Gucci store. For now Prada, Armani, Blue marine, Dolce & Gabana, Coach and many more. Worth a stop.

Reviewed October 31, 2016

This is a medium size, beautifully designed outlet. The place is very nice to walk in and have lots of nice stores. the problem is that the prices are not cheap enough. Even though we were sure we would buy a lot of things there, we eventually bought only one item only, we just didn’t manage to find bargains ….

More in Italy:

Designer Outlet in Noventa di Piave near Venice. This is another McArthurGlen center.

SPAIN

Designer Outlet Málaga, Plaza Mayor

Designer Outlet Málaga in Plaza Mayor is London-based McArthurGlen’s latest project in Spain, opening in 2019 at a cost 140 million euros. How popular has it been? Well, there’s already a plan – approved by the local government – to expand it by 14,000 square meters, or about 1 acre.

This is really Spain’s only high-end fashion outlet with actual high-end fashion including Zegna, Prada and Armani along with standard brands such as Vans, Levi’s and what have you.

Designer Outlet Málaga rates a 4 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor but with only 31 reviews:

Pretty typical is this latest from a few days ago –

NK
NK
Roscommon, Ireland15 contributions
Lovely outlet with normal shopping center on one side of car park with shops like: H&M, Zara etc while opposite side of car park is the designer outlet with brands such as: Prada, Hugo boss, Guess, Nike etc
It’s lovely and clean and outdoors , loads of areas to sit in shade and have food in food court. Very like Woodberry common in US. 20 min Uber ride from Malaga cost around €50 return.

Sevilla Fashion Outlet

This is (arguably) among the better fashion outlets in Spain, and its owner – London-based Via Outlets – is investing 17.5 million euros to expand it by Q4, 2023. (This plan has been on the books for years, but stalled during the pandemic.)

Sevilla Fashion Outlet is already pretty sweet, with 70 stores including a mix of global brands such as Ralph Laurent and Spanish brands such as Adolfo Dominguez. The expansion will add 10 more stores including some more exclusive global brands, according to management. Maybe Gucci and Louis Vuitton?

On TripAdvisor, Sevilla Fashion Outlet gets a reasonable 3.5 out of 5 ranking, though weirdly only 74 reviews.

Most reviews were “meh,” though there were a lot of positive remarks about parking, the air conditioning and the reasonable prices compared to full-price shopping in Belgium and the U.K.

Las Rozas Village, Madrid

Okay, we haven’t made it to Las Rozas. But the website makes it clear that this is an upscale discount experience (if that’s not a contradiction in terms), with services such as personal shoppers and, better (though limited) dining and even a free kennel for your four-legged friends.

The shopping options are also a bit more esoteric, with Spanish and Italian boutique/prêt-à-porte brands including Adolfo Dominguez, Bimba y Lola, Hoss Intropia and Roberto Verino.

There are also the regular regulars including Superdry (big in the Netherlands right now.) Also lots of housewares and cosmetics.

Even the “meh” reviews on TripAdvisor rate this as the best fashion outlet choice in Madrid.

Recent reviews from TripAdvisor:

Reviewed April 11, 2017

Lots of shops for everyone from adults to kids. I enjoyed the outdoor area and thought this was great for finding something special. There are lots of designer stores but also more budget shops. You can spend a whole day just walking around in the sun.

Reviewed 3 weeks ago via mobile

Lots of upscale brands Good free Internet

My wife found 4 items at Michael Kors that was half the price of the outlet near Miami… But it did seem as a whole the prices were not as good as in a US outlet

Playground for little kids. A few food options. There is also another mall with more food and games right next door  Send me a note if you have any questions. If this was helpful click on the thumbs up.

Other options in Spain:

La Roca Village in BarcelonaLike La Rozas Village in Madrid, La Roca Village is part of the Chic Outlet Shopping chain. La Roca Village has basically the same offerings as La Rozas, with 130 boutique stores. But this place also has boutique beer! 

Here’s the latest review:

Reviewed 4 weeks ago via mobile

Great place to shop. It can be hit and miss with the bargains. Not very big so you can be done in a couple of hours. Would recommend obtaining the 10 percent VIP discount card prior to your visit and do a thorough research of the shops on line before your visit.

See more posts about designer outlets here.

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