Bicester: The small market town with designer labels at High Street prices
Here's a gossip column teaser. Where could you find Sam Cam rubbing shoulders with Posh Spice, Kate Middleton, Kate Moss and the Saudi Royal Family?
No, not the latest chi-chi restaurant, nor a new A-list nightclub. The celebrity magnet is none other than a designer discount outlet on the outskirts of Oxford that has quietly become one of the world’s most successful shopping destinations.
Perhaps it’s due to the recession, or maybe it’s down to the Duchess of Cambridge championing High Street and discount stores, but bagging a bargain seems to have become a source of pride even for the smartest set.
A steal: Perhaps it's due to the recession, or maybe it's down to the Duchess of Cambridge championing High Street and discount stores, but bagging a bargain seems to have become a source of pride even for the smartest set
A steal: Perhaps it's due to the recession, or maybe it's down to the Duchess of Cambridge championing High Street and discount stores, but bagging a bargain seems to have become a source of pride even for the smartest set
The result? For increasing numbers of trendsetters, it’s now a case of ‘Goodbye Bond Street, hello Bicester Village’.
The retail outlet was started 15 years ago by an American, Scott Malkin, who wanted to introduce us to the American concept of discount shopping.
Last year, it recorded sales of ￡1,400 per square foot — the highest of any shopping centre in the world, and nearly three times more than London’s Selfridges, which has sales of ￡500-￡600 per square foot.
This year, to date, sales at Bicester Village are up by 26?per cent — an astonishing achievement at a time of economic downturn. So exactly what is its secret?
The uninitiated might assume that Bicester Village is a pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap warehouse; more Primark than Prada. But as you arrive on the immaculate, leather-seated shuttle bus from nearby Bicester railway station, it becomes clear this is far from the case.
It’s early on a rainy Monday morning, but the car park is filling up with Mercedes, Chelsea tractors and even the odd Ferrari. No need for any edicts banning hoodies here — though there are plenty of silk scarves in evidence.
It’s certainly no pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap warehouse
The ‘village’ itself looks more like a film location than a Bluewater/Westfield shopping megalopolis. Immaculate New England-style clapboard houses, painted in subtle greys and whites, face each other across a broad, flagged street adorned with little topiary box trees and pretty benches.
It’s a little like the set of Desperate Housewives, but there’s nothing suburban about the signs above the shop doors: Dior, Prada, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Anya Hindmarch, Diane von Furstenberg...
There’s a White Company for duvet covers, a Le Creuset if you’ve run out of cast-iron pans, a Bonpoint for well-dressed babies and a Jack Wills for their teenage siblings. Even fashion-phobic men get an ultra-chic Bose electronics store, offering, for example, a home cinema system reduced by ￡780 to ￡1,820.
Altogether, there are 130 of the world’s most glamorous stores here — and not a traffic warden in sight, let alone a crisp packet. All BV staff, including the top dogs, are instructed to pick up any litter they see.
Bargain-hunter's paradise: Bicester's Outlet Village is bringing in business from around the world
Bargain-hunter's paradise: Bicester's Outlet Village is bringing in business from around the world
The big surprise is what happens when I cross the threshold of Diane von Furstenberg (something I’ve never dared do at its swanky Mayfair store). Instead of eyeing me like a caterpillar in her salad, as her London counterparts would have done, the assistant actually smiles at me before asking if she can help.
As I flick through the rails of clothes, the reason for her smile dawns on me: it’s because she knows I might actually be able to afford to buy something. Here, you can walk off with a classic wrap dress for around ￡150, or a butter-soft white leather jacket reduced from ￡639 to ￡255.
The reason for the discounts is twofold. First, the Oxfordshire location is far enough away from the London flagships not to undermine the designers’ exclusive image. The prices are guaranteed to be at least 30?per cent cheaper than on Bond Street.
Secondly, some designers use their Bicester outlet to sell stock that will soon be ‘out of season’, or which they have had trouble shifting at their flagship stores. Either way, the quality is not compromised.
I lust after a Joseph trench, a snip at ￡148
At Amanda Wakeley, I spot a beautiful smoky-grey draped evening gown reduced from ￡1,795 to an eye-catching ￡149.50. No wonder a canny bride-to-be has come in with her mother and is trying on all the white dresses she can find.
In Jimmy Choo, a pair of thoroughly on-trend gold wedges have been reduced by 50?per cent to ￡125. Suddenly, the hours I spent in the queue at the last Jimmy Choo sale seem to have been a needless waste of time.
Moving on to Joseph across the street, I lust after a black trench with a leather collar that is a snip at ￡148 (down from ￡495).
An elegantly dressed Bond Street type is flicking through the racks of beautifully-cut basics. ‘We’re here to buy Mummy some clothes for Antigua,’ she tells the assistant. Of course you are, daahling.
Among the regular Village People are the likes of Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Anne and Zara Phillips, while foreign crowned heads who have rummaged here include the royal families of Brunei, Kuwait, Malaysia and Thailand.