<ul class="summary-list"><li>Thousands sign <a href="https://www.change.org/p/bicester-village-shut-bicester-village-or-put-proper-measures-in-place?recruiter=false&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&amp;utm_term=share_petition&amp;recruited_by_id=ecd23b50-aef6-11ea-beb0-8bb6386c1722&amp;utm_content=fht-22847823-en-gb%3Av2=fht-22847823-en-gb%3Av2">petition</a> calling for <keyword id="5880449" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bicester-Village">Bicester Village</keyword> to close after larger crowds gather outside stores prompting worker safety concerns. </li><li>Laura Wicks, who started the petition, wrote online that she was "disgusted to see the hundreds of people squashed into the street like <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> never happened."</li><li>The company behind the shopping complex outlined its new shopping protocols online. These include having your temperature taken on arrival, standing two-meters apart from other guests, and putting a limit on the number of people allowed in a store at any one time.</li><li>It is not clear how these are being enforced, however. </li></ul><p>Thousands of people have signed a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/bicester-village-shut-bicester-village-or-put-proper-measures-in-place?recruiter=false&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&amp;utm_term=share_petition&amp;recruited_by_id=ecd23b50-aef6-11ea-beb0-8bb6386c1722&amp;utm_content=fht-22847823-en-gb%3Av2=fht-22847823-en-gb%3Av2">petition</a> calling for Bicester Village, the UK's well-known luxury shopping village, to close after crowds of shoppers gathered outside stores on Monday putting workers at risk, it said. </p><p>At the time of writing, nearly 4,500 people had signed the petition. </p><p>Bicester Village, which is home to over 160 brands including Gucci, Balenciaga, Versace, and Valentino, is a luxury shopper center where customers can buy discounted designer clothing and accessories that are usually from the previous season. The complex was able to reopen on Monday as per UK government guidelines after being closed for several months during the lockdown. </p><p>Laura Wicks, who started the petition, wrote online that she was "disgusted to see the hundreds of people squashed into the street like Coronavirus never happened."</p><p>"As a nation we are all still under the 2 metre guidelines and as a company, Bicester Village have a responsibility to keep its staff safe," she said. "It is horrendous that the people who work there are being forced into an unsafe environment when so many of them have family at home. SHUT THE VILLAGE UNTIL THEY HAVE A SOLUTION TO KEEP THEIR STAFF SAFE OR THE GUIDELINES CHANGE," she said.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=bicester%20village&amp;src=typed_query&amp;f=livep;f=live">Photos shared on social media</a> show large crowds gathered outside stores with customers not adhering to the UK's government's two-meter social distancing rules, which stores are required to enforce. </p><p>Business Insider reached out to Value <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">Retail</keyword>, the company that runs Bicester Village, for comment but did not immediately hear back.</p><p>On its website, Value Retail clearly <a href="https://www.tbvsc.com/bicester-village/en/company/faq">outlines</a> its new shopping protocols, however. These include having your temperature taken on arrival, standing two-meters apart from other guests, and putting a limit on the number of people allowed in a store at any one time.</p><p>Two-meter floor markers have been placed inside and outside of the boutiques to show people where to stand, it said. In addition, it said that it would be monitoring the number of guests in the shopping complex at any one time. </p><p>"We may ask guests to wait outside the Village for a short moment in the interests of everyone's safety and well being. We expect to be able to manage this guest flow as fluidly as possible," it said. </p><p>Bicester Village opened in 1995 and has quickly become one of the most popular tourist attractions in England, reportedly becoming the <a href="https://time.com/5162337/bicester-village-chinese-new-year-tourism/">second most-visited destination</a> by Chinese tourists there.</p><p>Despite its name, it doesn't actually look anything like an English village. In fact, the immaculate rows of clapboard houses and manicured flower beds look more like something you'd see on the east coast of America.</p>

Thousands sign petition to shut down UK's luxury shopping 'village' that's hugely popular with Chinese tourists after giant lines outside stores prompt safety concerns

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/570e31f0dd0895f5488b4900-916-687/gettyimages-108797041.jpg" alt="Shoppers make a purchase using a UnionPay debit card at Harrods on February 3, 2011 in London, England. UnionPay is the sole debit card provider in China, representing 14 major Chinese banks. (Photo by )" data-mce-source="James McCauley/Harrods via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="One of the main reason given by Chinese tourists for coming to Europe is shopping." data-link="http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/license/108797041" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/license/108797041">James McCauley/Harrods via Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">One of the main reason given by Chinese tourists for coming to Europe is shopping.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Signing a deal with Bicester Village, the retail park in Oxford known for discount designer goods, is a top priority for Chinese e-commerce giant Alipay as it expands in Europe.</p><p>Alipay's EMEA chief, Rita Liu, told BI at Money2020 Europe: "It's funny you mention Bicester because we know them and half of their visitors altogether are Chinese. If you're there, it's like you're back in China. We see a great demand from the retailers to service specifically the Chinese. It's a really good match."</p><p>Alipay, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ant-financial-closes-deal-that-gives-50-billion-valuation-2015-7">the mobile wallet product spun out of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba</a>, announced at the conference last week in Copenhagen that it is launching its payment and marketing platform for retailers in Europe, with a particular focus on <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword>, Germany, and France.</p><p>Alipay will initially focus on serving Chinese tourists travelling overseas who already use Alipay. 117 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad in 2014 and spent $165 billion. Europe is the most popular destination for Chinese tourists outside of Asia, with the UK a popular choice. The average Chinese tourist spends $5,900 on a visit to the UK, according to Alipay.</p><p>"Shopping is definitely one of the major reasons why they come to Europe," says Liu. "So shopping is a major area we are addressing - that means shopping malls, outlets, duty free shops."</p><p>Liu confirmed to BI that Bicester is a key target in the UK. She says: "It's set to be the second most visit tourist destination for Chinese in the UK. The first one is Buckingham Palace. It's not a sightseeing spot but it's so popular and so famous among Chinese. When they land in London they will be like, where do go? Bicester Village!"</p><p>The shopping centre is home to discount stores for high-end brands such as Armani, Burberry, Dolce &amp; Gabbana, Gucci and Prada, Ralph Lauren. It fits perfectly with a love of luxury goods in China.</p><p>Alipay lets people pay for things through their smartphone but also <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/dominant-alipay-adds-p2p-payments-and-further-broadens-its-mobile-commerce-platform-2015-7">shows them offers, nearest stores, and gives them money management tools.</a></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/570e31f0dd0895f5488b4901-4373-3280/rita liu_alipay_1802_1145.jpg" alt="Rita Liu_Alipay_1802_1145" data-mce-source="Alipay" data-mce-caption="Alipay's Head of EMEA Rita Liu." /><p class="source"><span>Alipay</span></p><p class="caption">Alipay's Head of EMEA Rita Liu.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Liu says: "Alipay in China is much, much more than a wallet. It's a lifestyle solution. Chinese people use it every day for their daily services, wealth management. What's more, they can use Alipay as a platform to search for merchant information such as where are the nearest shops and restaurant information, what are the best deals.</p><p>"You don't need to carry your wallet, you just carry Alipay. We want to bring this experience to them when they travel outside of Europe."</p><p>Signing up retailers to accept Alipay is unlikely to be too much of a hard sell for Alipay. As well as the spending figures of Chinese tourists, Alipay can point to its user base in Asia - 450 million active users.</p><p>Liu says: "The wallet now is only available to Chinese consumers and Chinese users. The localisation of our wallet outside of China, we're now focusing on Asia and we're targeting 2 billion users in several years. For Europe, we're thinking about it. It's probably down the road but we don't have a clear timeline yet.</p><p>"This year for Europe we'll be focusing on this opportunity and getting the merchants and partners on to our platform. From a payment point of view we will get merchants to accept Alipay and also we will invite them to use our marketing platform to better engage with Chinese customers."</p><p>Liu wouldn't disclose who and how many retailers have signed up to accept Alipay, saying its "really a starting phase."</p><p>She says: "We're a young team in Europe, we just started here last year. The focus of this year is to launch our payment plus marketing platform to the merchants and partners here in Europe. This is driven by the huge opportunity of Chinese travellers coming to Europe and spending here."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hamilton-makes-over-2-million-month-producer-jeffrey-seller-broadway-musical-theater-2016-4">Broadway's biggest hit 'Hamilton' is making over $2 million a month - here's why the producer thinks it could be making a lot more</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hqaGdtMjE6TuOLd1QuJ1UzvqOkB9_J_a" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'hqaGdtMjE6TuOLd1QuJ1UzvqOkB9_J_a',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

'It's like you're back in China': Designer outlet Bicester Village is key to Alipay's expansion in Europe

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5da44ef8cc4a0a171e448202-900/gettyimages-527099785.jpg" border="0" alt="Bicester Village" data-mce-source="Getty/James Arnold"><p class="source"><span>Getty/James Arnold</span></p><p class="caption">Bicester Village.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The company behind a bizarre luxury shopping 'village' in the UK is launching in New York.</strong></li><li><strong>Bicester Village opened in 1995 in the UK and has since become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK. It is home to over 160 luxury brands selling clothes and accessories at discounted prices.</strong></li><li><strong>Bicester Village isn't really a village, and no one lives there. It's a shopping village that would look more at home on the east coast of America than in England with rows of clapboard houses and neat flower beds - all of which serve as shop fronts for brands including Gucci, Balenciaga, and Versace.</strong></li><li><strong>It now has 10 sister locations in cites across Europe and China.</strong></li><li><strong>The chairman of the company behind this <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> concept told <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/bicester-village-plans-new-york-presence">Business of Fashion</a> that work on its new location in New York will begin in the next year.</strong></li></ul><p>The company behind a bizarre fake village that's a hugely popular shopping destination for Chinese tourists in the UK is bringing the concept to the US.</p><p>The UK's Bicester Village claims it's almost as popular with Chinese tourists as Buckingham Palace - the official London residence of the Queen. It's run by Value Retail and has sister locations in Paris, Shanghai, and Brussels among other places.</p><p>Value Retail chairman Scott Malkin told <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/bicester-village-plans-new-york-presence">Business of Fashion</a> that work on the upcoming New York location will begin in the next year.</p><p>A spokesperson for parent company Value Retail did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for more details.</p><p>The company did not disclose more details on what its latest shopping village could look like or where it will be in its conversation with Business of Fashion.</p><p>The UK was the first place to host this faux village concept in the outskirts of a town called Bicester, which is about 45 minutes from London by train. Since it launched in 1995, it has quickly become one of the most popular tourist attractions in England, reportedly becoming the <a href="https://time.com/5162337/bicester-village-chinese-new-year-tourism/">second most-visited destination</a> by Chinese tourists there.</p><p>Despite its name, it doesn't look anything like an English village. In fact, the immaculate rows of clapboard houses and manicured flower beds look more like something you'd see on the east coast of America.</p><p>Today, the UK complex has over 160 brands including Gucci, Balenciaga, Versace, and Valentino, selling discounted clothing and accessories, which are usually from the previous season.</p><p>Value Retail told Business of Fashion that it is able to attract such high-end designers by promoting its villages as luxury destinations rather than outlet malls.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Rather than charging a monthly rent, Value Retail takes a <a href="https://www.thebicestervillageshoppingcollection.com/en/value-retail/who-we-are/the-value-retail-way/brand-partners/">royalty on sales</a> and is actively involved in marketing and managing the experience in each store via a team of merchandising experts dedicated to each Village. These merchants help brands with promotions, in-store presentations, and window displays, amongst other things.</p><p>"We have the freedom to invest back into our villages and that allows us to reinvent every single one of them in a very curated experience," Value Retail's global chief merchant Desirée Bollier told Business of Fashion.</p><p>Bollier is hoping this will put it ahead of some of the luxury players in New York.</p><p>"And that reinvention - I didn't see that in New York," she told Business of Fashion. "There is really a lack of investment into memorable experiences when you go into, for instance, Barneys. Clearly, they have taken the customer for granted and you can't, you have to reinvent the experience. It can't remain stale. It has to be a theatre."</p><div>    <iframe src="//instagram.com/p/ByGHrb3AmJ1/embed/" width="540" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true">    </iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/forever-21-bankruptcy-rise-fall-retail-apocalypse-fast-fashion-2019-9">At its peak, Forever 21 made $4.4 billion in revenue. Here's what led to the brand's downfall and bankruptcy.</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/2tzdAoRv-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "Bicester Village" and got 3 results

Thousands sign petition to shut down UK's luxury shopping 'village' that's hugely popular with Chinese tourists after giant lines outside stores prompt safety concerns

Mary Hanbury

'It's like you're back in China': Designer outlet Bicester Village is key to Alipay's expansion in Europe

Oscar Williams-Grut

The people behind a weird fake village that's hugely popular with Chinese shoppers are bringing the concept to New York

Mary Hanbury