I thought I would share some information with you I thought to be quite interesting. Gone are the days where Italians will shop only at the neighborhood boutique. While the small stores in town are really hurting with few sales and high rents to pay, the outlets are seeing a huge surge in traffic. Does this traffic mean sales? I am not sure.
I had the pleasure of visiting the nearest Outlet called Valdichiana Outlet Village this past Saturday. The parking lot was jammed full and stores were similarly full of people. I did not see everyone with shopping bags but I did see many many people taking their wallets out and purchasing. This is the wave of the future for Italy. I would not even say it is the future since it has been in the past ten years at least that these outlets are springing up everywhere. You cannot beat them though. This Village has over 200 designer lables for fashion and accessories. There are discounts up to 70 percent throughtout the whole year and it is open 7 days a week. It has a large playground for children and restaurants and bars to keep you happy.
Some stores include Benetton, Brums, Calvin Klein, Conte of Florence, Datch, Fila, Fornarina, Just Kavalli, John Ashfield, Lotto, Levis, Richard Ginori, Sisley, Stefanel, VFG Factory Store.
If you do visit this outlet, I recommend you go to the Lindt chocolate store and order the Varesino at the bar. It is a hot chocolate drink in a glass espresso cup covered with whipped cream, topped with chocolate cocoa and served with a chocolate spoon.
Enjoy!
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