The Gucci Factory Outlet in Florence, Italy: Is It Worth a Visit?
The Gucci Outlet at The Mall Firenze.
I often tell folks about the different rhythm of summer public holidays in Europe vs. the USA.
As an American, I grew up enjoying the summer holiday trio of:
Memorial Day, in late May,
Independence Day, at the start of July, and
Labor Day, at the start of September.
(And now we even have Juneteenth in the middle of June!)
But in Europe, most of the public summer holidays have historical ties to Christian Feast Days.
This means two things: one, that they’re observed relatively close together, rather than being spread out across the entire summer, and two, the precise dates of these public holidays are dependent on whether or not Easter was early or late that year.
While each country and region is different, here’s what this looks like in Hessen, Germany:
Labor Day, or “Tag der Arbeit”, on May 1st,
Ascension Day, in the first half of May,
Whit Monday, in the middle of May, and
Corpus Christi, at the end of May.
Usually, when Easter is later in a particular year, Corpus Christi will be pushed into June. But the overall effect is the same: all of our summer public holidays are concentrated in May or early June.
Which is a really long winded way of explaining that later this month, I’ll be jetting off to Italy to enjoy my public holidays along with a “Brückentag,” or bridge day, to stretch it out to a long weekend. This Italian holiday will take me through the center of Italy, through Tuscany and with a few days in Florence. And naturally, the question arose:
The Gucci Factory Outlet in Florence, Italy: Is It Worth a Visit?
If you’ve read my Guide to Luxury Shopping in Europe, then you know that I love luxury goods, having previously worked for Cartier and Louis Vuitton. But to Visit the Gucci Factory Outlet, or Not to Visit? That is my question.
How Far is the Gucci Factory Outlet from Florence?
I don’t have a ton of time in Florence, about two days, and I want to make the most of them.
The outlet is in the Mall Firenze in Leccio, Italy, about a 45 minute drive outside of Florence. The Mall Firenze operates a direct bus between Florence and the Mall, with the ride taking about 50 minutes each way.
So that’s… wow, close to two hours round trip.
How Discounted are the Prices at the Gucci Factory Outlet?
The main reason to go shopping at an outlet is to score significant markdowns on items that would otherwise not be available at such a price point. Gucci’s own website stresses that they don’t put items on sale, but it’s written in such a vague way as to imply that there might be deals at the Florence Outlet.
I’ve heard through the grapevine that the Gucci Outlet has some “nice discounts” (so vague!), but what I really want to know is how big are these discounts? What are some examples of pricing at the Gucci Outlet?
Thanks to a few absolutely shameless brave YouTubers who have recorded their shopping sprees and then posted video recaps for the masses, we can see some examples of pricing direct from the Firenze Factory Outlet. Like a GG Marmont Matelassé Mini bag for 27% off retail, or Gucci Fria Boots for 65% off retail, or Gucci Rebel Sneakers for 49% off retail.
While these are impressive discounts on their own, watching these videos led me to another realization…
How is the Product Selection at the Gucci Factory Outlet?
It just doesn’t seem like the selection at the Gucci Factory Outlet is something that is going to excite me.
The retired Gucci Soho camera bag is something of a lost grail bag for me. I’m kicking myself for not buying it when it was part of their range for the past decade. (They’ve relaunched it as the Blondie Bag, but, sigh, it’s not the same. The new version looks flimsier, the leather not as supple.) Though it’s my dream to waltz into the Gucci Factory Outlet and score a mid-2010s Soho, I think I have to be realistic that this piece is long gone from their retail channel.
The long-gone Gucci Soho. Swoon.
Another aspect of the product selection that concerns me is whether or not the products are made specifically for the outlet. This is one of the major reasons that I don’t shop at traditional outlet malls: it’s an open secret that the merchandise isn’t really discounted, but rather manufactured to a lower price point, and therefore lower quality.
In searching around for an answer to this question, I came across this Reddit commenter who mentioned the Gucci Factory Outlet has a line of handbags made exclusively for the outlet. Uh, that’s not really for me.
Taken together, I fear the selection won’t excite me. It reminds me of shopping sales when I was younger and less experienced. I would often buy things solely because they were on sale - not because I loved them or had a need for them in my collection.
And that’s not a habit I want to get back into.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I’m leaning towards NO - at least for this trip!
As a former luxury goods professional, I’m still interested in its retail ecosystems, from big city flagship stores to alternative concepts like outlets.
After considering what’s most important to me on this trip, I don’t think I can swing it. But if I find myself spending a longer amount of time in Florence, then using four hours of my time to check out The Mall Firenze may not be a bad idea.