Beppe Angiolini, the Italian buyer who built the Sugar multi-brand concept store into an internationally known retail operation, died Saturday at his home in Arezzo, Italy. He was 73. He had been battling an illness for some time.

Angiolini started in fashion in his early twenties. Born Giuseppe Angiolini in 1952, he opened a small store on Arezzo's Corso Italia in 1978. That shop grew into Sugar, a retail concept hinged on research and avant-garde brands that drew shoppers from across Italy.

He became a prominent figure among international buyers, respected for a discerning and unconventional eye that helped launch generations of designers. Carlo Capasa, chairman of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, credited Angiolini as one of the first to believe in Costume National, the brand Capasa founded with his brother Ennio.

"With Beppe Angiolini, the fashion world loses a figure of great sensitivity and vision, who helped champion Italian creativity and support entire generations of talent," Capasa said.

What did Sugar become under Angiolini?

In 2018, Angiolini relocated the expanded womenswear and menswear concept store to the 18th-century Palazzo Lambardi in Arezzo. The 13,000-square-foot space, with frescoes and wooden beam ceilings, mixed fashion with art, books and music. He then extended the operation into hospitality, adding the boutique hotel Sugar Rooms and the No Sugar Please bar to the retail experience.

The move signaled a broader strategy: retail as cultural destination rather than pure point of sale, a model other independent retailers have since copied across Europe.

What role did he play in Italy's retail industry?

Angiolini led Camera Buyer Italia, the country's retailers' association, as president from 2008 to 2014, then served as its honorary president from 2014 to 2018. He also consulted for a range of events and organizations, including the jewelry trade show Oro Arezzo.

Maura Basili, president and co-founder of Camera Buyer Italia, called him a dear friend and a formative force for the association. "Beppe had a free, curious and always highly individual perspective, as well as the courage to follow his instincts," Basili said. "I am deeply grateful to him for all he gave our association."

She added: "As a friend, I will carry with me the memory of our conversations, his energy and his unique ability to imagine something others could not yet see. We will miss him deeply."

Capasa echoed the assessment, citing Angiolini's "extraordinary ability to recognize talent, his curiosity and his consistently forward-looking perspective" and saying his passion and contribution "have left a deep mark on our industry."

Angiolini is survived by his brother Alessandro. Details on funeral arrangements were not immediately available. The future of Sugar's Palazzo Lambardi operation and its hospitality ventures has not been disclosed, and the industry will watch how the retail concept he built over 47 years carries forward.