Hi Ian, unfortunately I have never been to the UK (except stopping at heathrow - and if I would stay in London I would use my time to visit sights, museums etc) so I cannot really compare the italian outlets with any other.

One thing is sure, italian clothes are getting really expensive just because of the name they have, and sometimes quality is not even that great, but that's happening with many brands that are also non-italian.

Near Venice I've found the Benetton outlet to be quite convenient especially for summer clothes, but if we talk about a coat for the winter I want to make sure that I will buy something durable and of good workmanship.

For example, last year I've bought in Zara a cheap jacket, good looking, for spring/autumn. The first I got took only a few days to get the zip broken, substituted and after a few months the zip is gone again.

So that's why now I want to buy something good that doesn't leave me in the cold... but I neither want to get robbed by expensive boutiques.

By the way, italian outlets have all the brands not just the italians, and especially in the south if you know which places you should visit (there's not just Florence, to say it all I've never bought clothes near there) you can really get good bargains, although sometimes it's only a matter of luck.

EDIT: ah, I see now you were talking about Gucci??? Those are very posh brands. I'm miles away from buying that stuff