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| Village atmosphere at La Roca Village (picture from their website) |
La Roca Village is part of an outlet shopping centre chain spread across Europe and there are currently two of them in Spain: Las Rozas Village near Madrid and La Roca close to Barcelona. They bring together brands like Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Versace, Swarovski, Ralph Lauren etc. in a “village” setting within a short distance of major cities. I’ve visited Las Rozas in Madrid couple of years ago and going to La Roca has been on my “to-do” list for ages; therefore, I was very pleased to go when an opportunity aroused last weekend.
Usually, I am a bit skeptic about the type of “luxury shopping experience” that also La Roca promotes on their website. Sad but true, very often the stuff is second quality or something that was never meant to be for sale in the regular shops. That’s why I must say I was positively surprised: the prices were 30 – 70 % off from the retail rates and all the articles I was checking were not second quality neither only for factory store selling. They were simply previous season’s collections which the brands cannot sell in their flagship stores anymore. If you are a “pro” shopper, willing to dig a little more and it’s your lucky day, you can actually find some seriously good offers in there.
I was mainly looking for accessories and it took me almost three hours to make my way through the village. I did not stop at every shop. So if you are looking for clothes as well, I recommend booking a full day – it’s really worth it if you are going to buy more. There are some restaurants and cafes to fill up the energy level so you don’t need to shop till you drop!
Journey from Barcelona center took approximately 40 minutes by car. There’s also a bus going directly from Plaza Catalunia five times a day. It costs 12 euros return. The village is open from 10am to 9pm Mon-Sat. More on their website http://www.larocavillage.com
Top bargains? A pretty Burberry scarf 100 % silk for 30 euros (original price 150 euros) and a full-length coat 100 % wool from nearby Mango outlet for 35 euros (original price 170 euros).
What are you waiting for?
Last year, I went on a shopping trip at La Roca with the Barcelona Women's Network. We had a special chat with on of the stylists for La Roca. She said that items are not factory seconds and if anything was, it must be clearly stated. She said the vision of the center is to have discounted off season clothing or maybe in-season, but from the previous year's fashions (but still in style).
ReplyDeleteThanks for confirming what I thought. Did not even see any second quality labels though.
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