Next Generation Retail
Düsseldorf is a shopping metropolis whose purchasing power ranks in the top 5 among German cities and attracts investors with new store concepts. But what do streetwear and luxury brands, international fl agship stores and individual boutiques have in common? The future of retail lies in its emotionalisation.
Experience-oriented retail: the Düsseldorf "Club" of the car brand Lynk&Co is a fashion store, info point, café and co-working space all in one.
Düsseldorf is a city where luxury does well. The queues in front of luxury boutiques like Louis Vuitton are proof of this, as is the investment of international top brands and retailers in the city. Breuninger just opened a new luxury floor in April. With 30 per cent more space, the new fl oor presents coveted brands as Saint Laurent, Celine or Loewe on a total of 1,800 sqm. "The investments in our flagship store in Düsseldorf are at the same time an investment and a commitment to the future of stationary retail," says Breuninger CEO Holger Blecker, who aims to steadily expand Breuninger's position in Düsseldorf's premium and luxury segment.
„Our stores are places of encounter and inspiration for all guests who visit us“
There are also others involved in the shaping of the city's retail landscape: the new luxury shopping project of superlatives, Calatrava, is to be completed in 2028. Named after the architect Santiago Calatrava, the building with its stylish architecture is to give Königsallee even more international appeal. 15,000 square metres are reserved for luxury retail and highendgastronomy. The opening of the fl agship stores of Moncler and Fendi marked the start of the building complex in 2022. "We want to bring Königsallee to the top of the European shopping streets. To achieve this, we have had long and intensive discussions with the international luxury trade," says Uwe Reppegather, Managing Partner of the CENTRUM Group, the investors and developers behind Calatrava.
As early as spring 2025, another promising location for fashion and luxury is set to open - the recently redesigned Carsch Haus, where work started in March of this year. It is the fourth department store of the KaDeWe Group in Germany, which includes KaDeWe in Berlin, Alsterhaus in Hamburg and Oberpollinger in Munich, built on approximately 10,000 sqm and seven floors. "Our stores are places of encounter and inspiration for all guests who visit us," says André Maeder, CEO of The KaDeWe Group. Services such as beauty treatments, personal shopping and a variety of gastronomic offers are to complement the department store's assortment. Maeder promises: "We are not only bringing a world of experience to Düsseldorf, but also the most digital department store in the world."
It's all in the mix: Concept stores like Hammermann in Unterbilk focus on fashion and lifestyle products.
Fashion has long meant more than just clothes on a rail, and not just for department stores and luxury retailers. In order to prevail against online retail, retailers have to create emotional worlds of experience, for example through exciting interior design, interactive assets and an exciting mix of products. Concept stores like Alte Giesserei Igel in Mettmann and The Qool combine fashion collections with furniture, beauty articles and home accessories. These places are often guided by fashion profession als and fashion agencies who know the market and consumers inside out. The Düsseldorf agency P4 Marketing, for example, specialises in emotional add-on products for the fashion trade, advises retailers such as Breuninger, P&C or Ansons and installs individual point-of-sale "superstores" - walk-in shop-in-shop concepts for lifestyle products such as scented candles, books or gadgets.
„Customers want to be surprised each and every time. Either by the reshaping of the product line, by exciting products and emotional experiences“
Katharina Meerkamp from the concept store Aest, which specialises in Scandinavian brands, also knows of the importance of supplementary products. "We aim for a cohesive selection, a complete look and love brands in combination with fragrances, jewellery or books," says Meerkamp. On Instagram, she presents new collections, gives styling tips and highlights products - all linked to her online store. The digital presence not only contributes significantly to sales, but also provides Aest with a loyal regular clientele who also regularly visit the stationary store. Here, Meerkamp invites customers to sales-promoting pop-up events in cooperation with brands. In April, she opened a second shop - in Düsseldorf Oberkassel. Aest is a flagship of Düsseldorf's independent retail landscape and is known beyond the city's borders.
As is Beyond Studios: as a part of the trendy restaurant Velvet, mostly frequented by Düsseldorf's young creative scene, Beyond Studios' ultra-hip range seems to merge with the lifestyle of its clientele. "Customers want to be surprised each and every time. Either by the reshaping of the product line, by exciting products and emotional experiences," confirms Karin Hammermann, who herself worked in fashion retail for many years before opening a concept store for fashion, interior, food and lifestyle on Lorettostraße. She also relies on personal shopping evenings and live shopping events on Instagram. However, Hammermann has observed with concern a decline in footfall, which has caused stationary fashion retailers to lose up to 20% in sales in the first quarter. "Right now, collaborative initiatives between gastronomy and retail are needed to revive trade in the city." Initiatives like the popular Lorettostraßenfest, which she co-organises three times a year, or the Düsseldorf Fashion Days Festival.
„Few cities in Germany stand for fashion, international and creative communities as much as Düsseldorf,“
Fashion, lifestyle, hospitality: in spring 2025, the Carsch Haus is to reopen as a department store of superlatives.
Fashion is and remains an attractive segment that companies from outside the industry are eager to dock onto. The automotive brand Lynk&Co, for example, opened one of its "clubs" in Düsseldorf in February 2023, an instagramable mix of co-working space, café, fashion store and information point with regards to shared mobility. In this space you can buy sustainable fashion, drink coffee, work and find out about the latest cars. "Few cities in Germany stand for fashion, international and creative communities as much as Düsseldorf," says Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk&Co and invests in a particularly creative interpretation of experience-oriented retail.
Concept space, pop-up store, showroom and interactive hub for communities with maximum amenity value - this is what fashion retail will be in the future. Everything but a mere sales area. Or as André Maeder of the KaDeWe Group puts it: "The important thing is the actual experience." •
Interview Karolina Landowski
Pictures PR