Milan: Searching for bargains?

An Epic Quest to find Bargains in Italy

The night of January seventh in Milan is a night I will never forget. On this night like all the other people-thousands of them-walking about the city, we too were hunting for a clothing bargain on this opening day of the winter sale season. Crowds of people continuously moved throughout the city on this fresh winter evening. It was the first time I saw hundreds of people holding on to shopping bags as they rushed across streets and pushed their way through the crowds. Usually when I travel into the city it is the tourists I see toting shopping bags, but tonight it was the local people. Everyone, so it seemed, wanted to participate in this annual shopping ritual. Milan tonight reminded me of the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S.A.-the biggest shopping day of the year.

_{Window shopping in Milan}

Living here as a foreigner permits me to see things from a different perspective. Watching how people shop has always fascinated me. The first thing I noticed were the large numbers of affluent-appearing local people moving around in the crowd. Usually when I am in Milan I don't see them probably they are hiding themselves, only venturing out at night perhaps to a club or restaurant. Tonight was different though. One reason I think they were so visible was because it was not an ordinary Sunday; they had all just returned form their two long bridge weekends making holidays in the Alps or by the seaside. Now it was time to engage in a last minute shopping spree.

The affluent Milanese, especially the women, were walking around in the stores flaunting their furs.

Yet at the same time as I observed them, I also noted the abandoned shopping bags obviously originating from prominent stores, thrown around, and standing on top of garbage cans. Interesting. I imagine someone was just too embarrassed to carry that particular bag home with them. Rumor has it the affluent Milanese don't want to be seen shopping at some major stores-because someone they know might see them.

_{Store with fur coat on display in Milan}

However, it was not only the upper crust of Milanese society who were out roaming around searching for a clothing bargain. People from all walks of life were rushing about with their bags. I spotted some tourists, but mostly it was the local population. I don't know what they bought, but obviously they had been shopping and some were carrying so many bags that they could barely manage.

However, from my own personal standpoint I was not too excited about the sales tonight. I had greater expectations-the reason we went to the city was to grab a bargain. It was a bit disenchanting though, as I had expected more stores to offer a fifty percent discount consistently. Not this year. From what I observed tonight, the large and medium sized stores were offering only a meager thirty percent off standard retail prices. Disappointing. There were some exceptions though; the lingerie shops were more generous, offering fifty-percent discounts. Perhaps this will change as the sale season progresses.

_{Late night bargain hunting in Milan}

Clothing prices have reached astronomical prices. When you see sweaters going for three hundred euros that are comparable to the quality of sweaters I bought only a few years ago in a nonprentious type of store, at a mere fraction of the current prices, you know that something really has gone wrong with the economy. Here is an example. Just a month ago I walked into a sporting goods store north of Milan city in the Brianza, not far from where I live. I gasped when reading the price tag of a child's ski jacket: the price was 796 euros. Outrageous. Someone is making an awful lot of money and some kid will be walking around as a privileged peacock. Tonight though, I actually got a good deal. I found a pair of very chic knee socks to wear with my leather boots and I barely paid 2 euros. That really is a deal, because when I think about the local mega-supermarket where I usually shop one has to pay somewhere between 8 to 10 euros for a pair of knee socks. If this is not outrageous then I do not know what is. Where has common sense gone? Why do people continue to pay these prices? Why do I never see people boycott these stores? If people continue to pay these prices, the prices will continue to rise and rise.

While we were strolling through Milan, my husband and I became thirsty and we decided to take a seat in one of the cafès in the Galleria, just a stone's throw from the Duomo cathedral. It has always been our habit to enjoy sitting at a cafè, sipping a glass of wine or soft drink and watching the people pass by during our visits to the city. We ordered a Coke and a Sprite and blindly assumed the prices were the same just like the last time, only a month ago to be exact. And, we never bothered to ask about the prices because that would be rather gauche.

_{Milan sale at a Lingerie store}

Only a month ago I spent 4 euros for a soft drink. Tonight we paid an astronomical 8 euros for each can of soft drink. Not only that, but we had to beg for something to nibble on. "Could we maybe have some potato chips to eat?" It was the aperitivo hour so we did not think we were being too pushy. Very slowly the waitress brought us a bowl of potato chips. Is this highway robbery or what? Someone is making a huge amount of profit. When the price of a soft drink jumps one hundred percent in a year's time, or even less, it is not acceptable anymore. Then, when I went to use the ladies room, I had another shock. This particular cafè was very bright, sophisticated and inviting, but the restroom-I wanted to run away. In Milan I have frequently encountered this situation, but nice places can be found. When one pays 8 euros for a can of soft drink at a cafè one expects that the establishment will at least offer its patrons a clean restroom to use. Big disappointment.

In summary then, more money was spent on gasoline, parking the car at 5 euros per hour and consuming soft drinks and potato chips, than was spent on the clothes that were actually purchased. It seems that it should have been the other way around, at least that is how I remembered it in previous years. In the old days a soda pop was 50 cents or maybe a dollar. Times are changing, but not in the ordinary sense. Last year I recall telling my husband that probably in a few years time we could expect to be paying 10 euros for a soft drink in Milan city. High prices are a reality and they don't seem to stabilize. What will happen in the future?

_{Big sale in Milan}

Here in Milan, it seems, that everytime you want to move it will cost you. What a shame. It is becoming too expensive to go to the city. And, now, with all the new surveillance cameras at work one has to be especially careful not to drive into the restricted streets, otherwise a ticket will arrive in one's mailbox. So, does one begin to lose motivation? Who wants to pay 8 euros for a Sprite? No one does, but people are doing it. And, if you are an American visiting here, given the currently weak American dollar, one will be dishing out 10 euros for a soft drink.

Then I look around me at all those crazy people hunting for a bargain-that 30 percent discount must really mean something to them. If that is all one can get then one has to grab it, and fast. In a city where prices only keep skyrocketing, it is no wonder that even a small discount of 30 percent is a god send. Anyways, the sale season has only started and there is still time for the "good will" of the merchants and cafè proprietors to give us a better deal. Let's keep hoping it will happen.

By Karin S. Fester