‘Rue de Rivoli is entering a new phase of inner-city growth and attractiveness,’ explains Thierry Fourez. ‘The spectacular renovation of the 150-year-old department store La Samaritaine is the crown jewel of this street’s transformation.
Paul Rodenburg of B@S (Brood@Spelen) Retail Consultants is a specialist in retail, shopping malls and inner-city development. ‘The B and S in our name stand for “brood en spelen”, that’s Dutch for the expression “bread and circuses”.
Before she founded My Jewellery in 2011, Sharon Hilgers (32) was a French teacher. She began pursuing her extraordinary passion for jewellery by developing her webshop, and then later opened her first boutique in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Downtown is a place where people like to come, to meet other, to shop, to relax. Many inner-city areas are also historic, and simply pleasant places to spend time. But above the shops, it is often strikingly quiet and empty.