2024-04-03 20:02:20
It was announced that 2024 would be a decisive year for Royal-Hamilius, the shopping complex at the entrance to the city center around the Hamilius/Monterey area, a true mobility center in the capital. Since its opening in 2019, and despite the health crisis that delayed its development, the space dedicated to retail has gradually found buyers. Since the beginning of 2022, the use of spaces has increased, allowing Firce Capital, the site’s manager, to plan to rent 100% of its commercial space.
The year began with the opening of Starbucks, now managed by SSP, on Place Hamilius, the first city center location for the coffee and sweet cake specialist. This was followed, in March, by the opening of the Timberland store on Rue Aldringen, managed, like its neighbor The North Face, by Outdoor Diffusion, a retailer specialized in opening and managing stores premium of outdoor items. But it was just the beginning.
By summer, three new stores will be opened on Rue Aldringen. The first is scheduled for the end of April. Announced last autumn, the arrival of the Belgian chain Lloyd Coffee Eatery is finally taking shape in a space of 345m2, spread over three floors, between Pret A Manger and Decathlon City. The café, which has six establishments in Belgium, will make its first foray abroad in the Grand Duchy, with the promise of a tempting menu for lovers of more or less hearty brunches.
New headquarters for sneaker lovers
Shortly afterwards, probably at the beginning of May, Three52 will open its doors, a boutique specialized in selling limited editions of sneakers and streetwear. Founded in 2001 by Christophe Afonso, Patrick de Almeida and Ermin Kocan, the Luxembourg store (the brand refers to the Grand Duchy’s telephone code) was installed on the first floor of the Cloche d’Or Shopping Center in September 2022. Thanks to a strategy for marketing aimed at its relatively young clientele, Three52 has built a strong reputation among sneakerheads, with a highly engaged community on social media.
The move by Three52, which will also remain at the Cloche d’Or, confirms the flourishing of the sneaker trade. The phenomenon has its own convention, which is organized every year at the Cloche d’Or (Sneakermess). Several entrepreneurs have entered the market in recent years, such as Filip Westerlund and his “Luxembourgish” sneakers, 100% circular economy. In the upper part of the city, The Source (28, rue Notre-Dame), Version Originale (70, Grand-Rue) and the recently opened New Fresh Kicks (43, Grand-Rue) are other examples.
Pierre Hermé’s famous ‘macarons’ are arriving
As we reported at the beginning of March, Pierre Hermé will open his first establishment in the Grand Duchy this spring. The pastry chef and chocolatier’s store is expected to open at the beginning of June, in a space of 80m2 which, for a few weeks now, has been covered by a large poster announcing the arrival of the famous macarons – the great specialties of the star of French haute pastry -, to the Luxembourg capital. But they will only be available for take-away.
“After exclusive brands such as Galeries Lafayette, Fnac, Decathlon and Pret A Manger, which are unique in Luxembourg, we are proud to have been chosen by a major international brand such as Pierre Hermé”, says Romain Muller, managing director of Firce Capital.
Pierre Hermé’s presence in the Grand Duchy is due to Stéphane Cambou, through his company Maistep. As a franchisee, he will manage the brand’s operations. “But Pierre Hermé personally came to Luxembourg to visit the Royal-Hamilius, to discover the site and the shopping streets; he believes in the project”, explains Romain Muller.
“Pierre Hermé is a highly premium brand, one of the biggest names in pastry, a brand as rare as it is famous throughout the world. This is exactly the philosophy we wanted to give Royal-Hamilius to reinforce the quality and complementarity of its commercial offer , in order to provide the best experience to our customers”, he adds.
Royal-Hamilius made a significant acquisition, which should help to consolidate the commercial complex’s area of influence, which is practically filled. Meanwhile, Firce Capital still has to struggle to find an occupant for two adjacent stores located nearby, still on Rue Aldringen. When asked about the matter, Romain Muller confided that talks were underway with several candidates and that the possibility of merging these two spaces into one is on the table…
History of store openings at Royal-Hamilius
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2019: Fnac, Proxy Delhaize, Galeries Lafayette
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2020: Tango
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2021: Decathlon, L’Atelier Steffen
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2022: Daniel Gérard, POST, La Mezzanine du Boulevard, SixSeven
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2023: Optical Center, Do for Love, Pret A Manger, Privilèges, The North Face
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2024: Starbucks, Timberland, Lloyd Coffee Eatery, Three52, Pierre Hermé
*La Malle de Lux and Hels1nk1 pop-up stores open on Rue Aldringen.
© Credits: Royal-Hamilius
(Article originally published on Comma and adapted for Contacto by Tiago Rodrigues)
2024-04-03 20:02:20