Cloche d'Or shopping centre / © RTL
With the Cloche d'Or, Royal Hamilius and Infinity shopping centres, 100,000 square metres worth of retail space have been added to the Grand Duchy within just a few months.
In 2016, Luxembourg reached one million square metres worth of commercial space, yet there was no end in sight when it comes to new shopping centres popping up in the Grand Duchy and the Greater Region. Recently, the Cloche d'Or shopping centre opened its doors in 2019, with an impressive 130 shops spread over 75,000 square metres, as well as Muse in Metz (37,000 square metres and 115 stores) and B'Est in Farébersviller (55,000 square metres, 100 shops).
With the recent additions, Luxembourg now counts 1.2 million square metres worth of shopping centres, which makes it the European country with the highest number of commercial space per resident (169 square metres per 1,000 residents), followed by Belgium and Austria. It is, of course, worth noting that this amount is heavily influenced by the number of cross-border workers. Nevertheless, the contrast remains the same.
Our colleagues at RTL 5minutes have listed 33 of the larger shopping centres in Luxembourg and the surrounding area and collated them in an interactive map. For each listed space, they've included the inauguration date, size, number of shops and grocery stores.
33 centres commerciaux ont été relevés
There are more than enough shopping centres, even when considering the fact the overall catchment area extends do 1.7 million people across four countries. The Cloche d'Or shopping centre, for instance, does not include the north of the country or the Belgian border area.
Nicolas Henckes, the director of the Luxembourg Trade Confederation, says that with the growing population, the commercial landscape is not yet saturated. However, he does agree that with the rather rapid growth in recent months, a new balance will have to be found.
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With the numerous additions to the commercial sector, the Cloche d'Or shopping centre is by far the most impressive. Just six months following its opening on 28.May 2019, with the official inauguration taking place only in October, its developers are rather pleased. According to property director Eric Mathieu, they have seen very large crowds visit the shopping centre, even more so since the Black Friday sales and the festive period. He confirms the Cloche d'Or shopping centre is doing well, especially compared to other recent shopping centre openings.
With the current extension of the tram line due to be completed in 2023, the surrounding construction sites going into its final stages and an expected 45,000 new residents by 2035, Mathieu is optimistic about the centre's future. Others, on the other hand, have had a disappointing starting phase but try to remain hopeful for the future.
The Cloche d'Or shopping centre has also put effort into extending free parking on premises to three hours during the week and five hours on Saturdays, but some shop owners have highlighted the fact they need more visibility, such as on the surrounding motorways, for instance.
The shopping centre does currently still have some vacancies, especially for restaurants. Mathieu has already announced the opening of three new restaurants in the coming weeks, notably Sushi Shop, Pokawa - Hawaiian Poke bowls - and Beef House.
On a global level, Luxembourg's commerce has to re-invent itself according to Henckes, who also highlights the effect of online competition, mobility and accessibility issues. What shopping centres do offer, however, is customer service, which is highly valuable. The future of physical shopping lies not only in the importance of cost - where online shopping will undeniably remain the more competitive option - but also in the user experience.
The traditional competitors of shopping centres, namely city centre stores, are struggling in the face of such strong competition, especially as continuing construction sites have more of an impact on high street stores.
