The retailer was a prominent figure among international buyers, respected for his discerning and unconventional eye.
MILAN – Beppe Angiolini, the Italian buyer behind the Sugar multi-brand concept store and front-row fixture, has died. He was 73.
Angiolini had been battling an illness for some time before he died Saturday at his home in Arezzo, Italy.
Born Giuseppe in 1952, he started a career in fashion in his early twenties, originally opening a small store on Arezzo’s Corso Italia in 1978, which would then become the internationally renowned Sugar. Hinged on research and avant-garde brands, it drew shoppers from across Italy.
He quickly became a prominent figure among international buyers, respected for his discerning and unconventional eye.
Expanded into a womenswear and menswear concept store, Sugar relocated to the 18th-century Palazzo Lambardi in Arezzo in 2018. Angiolini filled the 13,000-square-foot space boasting frescoes and wooden beam ceilings with not just fashion, but also art, books and music and ventured into hospitality adding the boutique hotel Sugar Rooms and the No Sugar Please bar to the retail experience.
Angiolini had been honorary president of Camera Buyer Italia, the country’s retailers’ association, between 2014 and 2018, and its president between 2008 and 2014. He also served in consultancy roles for a range of events and organizations, including the jewelry trade show Oro Arezzo.
“Today I am losing a dear friend, with whom I shared an important journey, a passion for this profession and the belief that our stores could be places to create culture and give space to talent,” said Maura Basili, president and co-founder of Camera Buyer Italia.
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