The Mall outside Florence
 

I understand there is an area with designer discount stores (Gucci, Pucci, Burberry, etc.) about an hour from Firenze. Anyone have recent experiences?

I believe there are 2. The one I've been to is just a bit South of Florence - don't think it took an hour to get there. There website says 30 minutes.

http://www.themall.it/en/outlet-italy/homepage.html

We poked around a bit but left without buying anything. I didn't think that the prices were necessarily all that great.

One of my favorite places. Was there around a year ago. Great prices on Tods. Nice restaurant there. The one upstairs is more expensive. Around 30 minutes by car from Florence. We had a car and it was not a bad drive. We also went to the original Prada outlet about 20 mins away. There is a smaller store at the outlet.
I think there is a bus from Florence too. Go!!

Was taken there by an Italian friend who carefully examined some of the high end stuff and verified that it really was from the stores and not "made for outlet". I got a very nice Zegna suit. And the cars in the parking lot are almost as interesting...

I own a shopping tour company and take groups there a couple of times a year, so I've probably been there 40 times or so. If you're into designer merchandise, there are some great deals. But don't expect a Gucci bag for €100 - prices are usually considerably lower than what you find in the U.S. but it's still mostly high-end designer stuff and priced accordingly. Over the years, I've found some great deals (I have a Loro Piana cashmere bathrobe I bought at the outlet there for around 10% of the U.S. price) but there have also been times when there was nothing I wanted - like any outlet, it's hit or miss (but usually more hit than miss, IMHO).

I was there in Sep 2013 and did not think the prices were all that great. It seemed to be geared towards the foreign market that prizes name brands more highly such as Russians and Brazilians...and would be cheap for them. I really think that you cannot beat the prices in the USA.
Better shopping is had at the seasonal sales (January is great) in the Milan shops on Corso Buenos Aires.

I would say it depends on the brand you're looking for; a while ago I found Pucci t-shirts at the Mall (for the better half) that while not cheap on their own were far cheaper than anything that was available at the Pucci store in Milan (via Montenapoleone).

So if you want something from Corso Buenos Aires, there are other discount malls that you can shop as well as the "saldi" in January and July. If you want something from Via Montenapoleone, the Mall is your best bet.