Shopping Outlets in Europe
 

This is a thread dedicated for Smart Shoppers. Designers' clothes are expensive but with a bit of planning, one can add value to a trip by shopping at outlets which to my knowledge are not widely advertized as in the US.

Here are some:

GERMANY: Metzengen (near Stuttgart)
huge Hugo Boss outlet plus many others. www.smatshoppingcity.com

SWITZERLAND: Villeneuve, Vaud plus other two locations.
This outlet is rather small. Its main attraction is Bally outlet shop.
www.foxtown.ch

ITALY: Serravalle,
It's a huge complex and worth a full day. It's located between Milan and Genoa (closer to the later). Main attraction: Prada outlet.
www.mcarthurglen.it/mcarthur_ser_uk.html

ENGLAND: Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Bicester Village is close to Oxford and it's slightly more than an hour train ride from London.
www.bicestervillage.com


More info: www.mcarthurglen.com

I have a huge long list of Italian ones. When I get a chance I'll add.

More than outlets though, I find I do pretty well just buying retail in countries where the items I want are made. Deruta, for example, is the source for Italian majolica. Our Roesle kitchen tools we buy in Germnay. Same with my Versace by Rosenthal china.

Here are some Paris outlets - will still get to the Italian ones:

Rue d'Alesia
This street has several including Evolutif (139) with Kenzo, Yves Saint Laurent and Cerutti. Kookai is at 111; Stock 2 (92) has Daniel Hechter.

Rue St. Placide
Mouton a Cinq Pattes is four outlets. Pilou (9) has last season Guy Laroche.

Mendes (65 Rue Montmartre) for Saint Maurent. Kanvin Soldes Trois (3 Rue de Vienne) for Lanvin. Pierre Cardin Stock (11 Boulevard Sebastopol).

Note: I haven't been to all of these recently, so can't say for certain that they're all still there.

The city of Troyes (old seat of the Duchy of Champagne - boundaries of the old city walls is shaped like a champagne cork) hosts a few factory outlets. Not too bad prices but no luxry goods here.

WMF (Wurtemberger metal fabrik - manufacturer of knives and housewares ) has an outlet somewhere in its home state south of Frankfurt & Mannheim and NW of Muenchen.

Henckels (needs no introduction, I'd wager) has one in or near Solingen.

terenz: What a tease! Do you have real addresses for Henkels and WMF?

[This message has been edited by letiole (edited Nov 18, 2003).]

Fischhalle
WMF AG
Eberhardstrasse
D-73309 Geislingen/Steige

Telefon 07331/258870
Fax 07331/258220
E-mail: [email protected]

Next Aiport Stuttgart

Warum "Fischhalle"?

Im Jahr 1912 eröffnete die WMF für Ihre Mitarbeiter ein Auslieferungslokal für Seefische, die direkt von den Hochseefischereien bezogen wurden. Während der Zeit des 1. Weltkrieg war die Fischhalle für die Ernährung vieler Geislinger Familien von größter Bedeutung.

Ende der 20er Jahre wurde der Fischverkauf eingestellt und der Verkauf von WMF Produkten in 2a-Qualität hielt Einzug. Der Name "Fischhalle" blieb erhalten und wird auch auf dem Weg ins 21. Jahrhundert das Synonym für unseren Werksverkauf am Fertigungsstandort Geislingen sein.
============
ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS AG,
Grünewalder Str. 14-22,
42657 Solingen
Bettina Thomas,
Tel: 0212 / 882-328,
Fax: 0212 / 882-400
oder senden Sie eine e-mail an [email protected]

Next airport DUS, Duesseldorf

ZWILLING Shop - Das scharfe Einkaufsvergnügen
Bei ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS wird das Einkaufen ab sofort zum Erlebnis. Der alte Werksverkauf ist "eingemottet" worden und durch einen attraktiven, kundenfreundlichen ZWILLING Shop auf dem Firmengelände an der Grünewalder Straße ersetzt worden. Ein separater Teil des neuen Shops ist für einen permanenten Schnäppchenmarkt mit II. Wahl und Auslaufartikeln zu supergünstigen Preisen reserviert.

Danke!

For those who like crystal wine glasses, Reidel has an outlet in Dachstein which I understand is reachable by commuter train from Muenchen.

Interesting information - but could do with translating!!!

I'll be in Munich the weekend before Christmas. I'd love to pick up some Rosenthal crystal, a Montblanc fountain pen and another Wusthof knife. Any suggestions?

I doubt if MontBlanc would be cheaper in Germany due to price maintenance. You probably can get better selection of Rosenthal though.

I somehow think Wusthof knives may be cheaper in the U.S. now., or cost about the same on sale so it isn't worth the bother. The current EUR:USD (EUR0.83:USD1) rate surely must make it very expensive. If I recall price comparison, there's little difference now especially since you don;t have a sales tax in Oregon. I don't think the prices have risen... 30% in the past year?

At any rate, does anyone know of a Wusthof or Forschner outlet?

Any bargains at Airport Duty Free Shops?

My limited experience tells me that there is nothing really at bargain prices. Most of the time I endup paying the full price minus the VAT (sales tax). While the chances of finding some products at a 30% discount or more is relatively high.

However, there are some exceptions where some products at some Airports tends to sell at a competitive price. Any hints?

The importend part is the address ...
One hint if you call Germany, the country code is 49. To dial "Telefon 07331/258870", you should dial 011-49-7331-258870 from the US.
I believe many German brands are now cheaper in the US. Like Mont Blanc ... The VW Phaeton is $25,000 cheaper here than in Germany!
A good deal is a BMW with a German delivery, you get a discount and have a nice car to drive in Europe ...
I buy most of good and cheap stuff (wine, Schnaps {Williams Kirschwasser}, Mon Cherie, Dresdner Stollen, Prosecco ...) at "ALDI" or "LIDL"

This is hit or miss, IMO. You do need to know your prices to know if you're getting a deal. I've gotten some very good prices on Guerlain cosmetics in airports in Germany and France and my husband has purchased vintage champagnes for far cheaper than we could get them here at duty free shops at LHR.

Back to the outlets ...

In France, Lille and surrounding towns such as Roubaix are filled with outlets. (Roubaix has a big outlet mall including Texaffaire, which is the Descamps - linens/towels - outlet and Sous-Signe, which sells designer sheets from Pierre Frey and Christian Lacroix.) In Lille, you'll find shops with Lancel, Hermes and many others.

Some outlets in Italy:

Ellesse
Via Filippo Turati 22, Ellere Umbria
Ponte San Giovani

Gucci
Via Aretina 63
Regello, Localita Lecci, Montevarchi (near Arezzo)

I Pellettieri D'Italia (lots of Prada)
Localita Levanella, Montevarchi

Frette
Via Visconti di Modrone 15
Milan

Max Mara
Galleria del Corso 2
Corso Vittorio Emanuelle
Milan

Lots of silk outlets near Lake Como. There's an Armani outlet between Milan and Como in Bregnano.