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OUTLET RETAILING UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN

By Nicky Godding

Italians have long enjoyed the advantages of buying their apparel direct from the factory, given the abundance of fashion manufacturers in that country. So it’s surprising that Italy is a relative latecomer to the concept of multiple factory outlet retailing.

The first developer to bring the concept there was McArthurGlen. The London-based firm opened Italy’s first designer outlet center in Serravalle, near Milan, in 2000. In March 2006 it opened Barberino Designer Outlet, in Barberino di Mugello, 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Florence and near Bologne.

All of McArthurGlen’s outlet centers are upscale, but the firm bills the 226,000-square-foot Barberino as its most spectacular. Built on a greenfield site along the Sieve River, its architecture is inspired by the 15th-century villas of the Medici period that are scattered across the Tuscan countryside.

The 100-shop center contains a bank, a tourist and information office and a children’s play area. The center also features restaurants serving traditional local cuisine.

McArthurGlen and its construction partner, Fingen Group, have harnessed the natural course of the Sieve, turning it into the heart and soul of the development. The river runs along the green banks from one cascade to the next, with a number of wooden bridges crossing the water.

This is no place to shop, merely, the developers say; it’s a venue for embracing nature. Many of the café piazzas for al fresco dining are near the water. Sun-washed colors enhance the arches and the stone streets.

Dolce & Gabbana, Guess and Prada, are among the tenants. Located off the main Florence to Bologna highway, Barberino sits near the village of Barberino di Mugello, renowned for leather goods, and the Ferrari-owned Mugello racetrack, used for testing race cars and for Grand Prix motorcycle events. Some 7 million people live within a 90-minute drive, and 11 million tourists visit annually.

The center successfully integrates into the bucolic setting, says Giovanni Galbiati, formerly group general manager at Gianni Versace, who became McArthurGlen’s regional director for southern Europe in February. “When I walk into Barberino, there is an aura of calm, and I feel my mood lighten,” Galbiati said.