Dress for much less - Island Connections

14
summershopping
EDITION 649 :: 12/08/2011 - 25/08/2011 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS
SummerShopping
Shopping Guide >>
Shopping
centres
T
he shopping centres here
on the islands, or centros
comerciales as they are called,
are all based around a sizeable
super- or hypermarket, and
these are usually Mercadona,
Carrefour, Alcampo, Alteza,
SuperSol, HiperDino or Hiper
Trebol, most of which stock
a range of local, national and
international brands as well
as fresh local produce.
Parking is extremely easy
and usually free of charge. In
some of the shopping centre
car parks, you will also find
various vehicle services on
offer such as car wash and
polish, tyre and battery fitting,
etc, all of which can be done
while you are shopping.
The stores you are likely to find inside are Bata,
Carolina Boix, MaryPaz, Zona
Zero (footwear), Women’s
Secret or Etam (lingerie),
Punt Roma (stylish ladies
fashion catering for larger
sizes), Stradivarius and Zara
(young fashion), Cortefiel,
Benetton, Encuentro, H&M,
Momu, Número 1 and Mango
amongst others (fashion),
Orchestra (children’s clothing), plus a number of shops
dedicated to cosmetics, sunglasses, books, toys, sports,
jewellery, shoe repairs, accessories and other goods.
Bargain hunting
Dress for
much less
E
ven if money is no obstacle,
there is a great ‘kick’ to
be had from picking up a
real bargain – a quality item at an
almost giveaway price!
In Tenerife we are lucky to have
several ‘outlet’ shops, stocking main
brands which can either be seconds or
leftovers from previous seasons.
One of our favourites is El Corte
Inglés which has a 2,500 square metre
premises in La Avenida del Paso on
the Los Majuelos industrial estate just
outside Santa Cruz. The four-storey
building is dedicated to the sale of
clothing – top brand textiles, footwear
and accessories for all the family with
discounts of up to 40 per cent.
Marks & Spencer have an outlet on
the Costanera industrial estate, just
past Radazul on the TF-1 motorway,
selling their quality clothing at bargain
prices. This is a warehouse which is
only open until 2.45pm.
Amazing bargains can be found,
especially during the sales periods,
at the Mango Outlet in CC San Eugenio, Costa Adeje, where there are
two floors full of clothing, footwear
and accessories for women and men.
Occasionally items can be found for
as little at €1.99 each.
For sports enthusiasts, Inter Sport
have an outlet inside the Hiper Trebol
complex at the entrance to Los Cristianos, and after ten years rest, Numero
1 stores have been relaunched all over
the Canary Islands, selling several
main brands of clothing including
Orchestra, Eureka Kids, Bimba &
Lola and Stradivarius with discounts
of up to 50 per cent.
More upmarket outlet stores can
be found at CC El Duque, including
Escada, an outlet shop for Escada, Es-
cada Sport and Laurel Apriori brands,
on street level, facing the market site.
Inside CC El Duque on the lower
floor, is Innova Outlet for women’s
clothing and accessories, and Stock
& Fashion, for Stradivarius.
A bit closer to the coast in Plaza del
Duque is a Weekend Outlet, situated
on the lower floor. But the king of
outlet shops has to be Galerías del
Duque, in a basement unit beneath
the Hotel Dreamplace Gran Tacande
and facing Plaza del Duque. This is
a super-brand fashion outlet for men
and women, and with discounts of
50, 60 and 70 per cent, this brings
the concept of designer clothing
within reach of even the poorest of us.
Brands include Calvin Klein, Cacharel,
Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Gucci,
Made in Spain, Miss Sixty, Versace,
Diesel and much more. There are
even rails of clothes priced at €10
and €15. A delicious selection to
suit any occasion plus footwear,
bags and accessories.
Whether you are on your holidays
or live here, it is easy for all the family
to dress for much less and go home
with a great bargain.
Several centres (Meridiano
in Santa Cruz, La Villa in La
Orotava and GranSur in the
south) house cinema complexes and a range of restaurants and fast food outlets, so
that you and your family can
turn shopping, eating and a
visit to the cinema into an enjoyable day out.