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Blog
30 December, 2014

The ‘Market Hal’ Rotterdam: City of Rotterdam get’s a lot of (inter)national attention because of the new shopping area and foodmarket ‘The Market Hal’

Especially in recent weeks The Rotterdam Market Hal has been frequently in the news. The roofed food market is described as the ‘food Mecca’. In other words a market with a massive selection of fresh fish, bread that is still warm, tender meat, innumerable cheeses and vegetables just taken out the ground. The Market Hal opened in early October 2014 by the Dutch Queen, Maxima. The Market Hal is now, after the new Central Station and skyscraper The Rotterdam, the third ‘attraction’ that Rotterdam has opened this year.

141006-Markthal-Rotterdam-open-1024x682Especially in recent weeks The Rotterdam Market Hal has been frequently in the news. Not only was the city of Rotterdam enthusiastic about this masterpiece. Everybody in The Netherlands shared a sense of pride. Also internationally seen there is a lot of admiration for Rotterdam and its interesting sights. Various international media wrote about Rotterdam. The New York Times and travel guide Rough Guide labelled Rotterdam as must see destination of 2014. Of course, The Market Hal obviously played an important role.

The Market Hal is originally a food market according to traditional methods. It also has the presence of some of the larger retailers such as Albert Heijn, which provides extra traffic. However, The Market Hal is more than a food market. Food and retail and (exciting) architecture meet at The Market Hal. The Market Hal is a sightseeing trip, an experience. The design is printed on all merchandise, even including a unique pair of men’s shoes one can buy for 250 euro’s. One can also buy colourful gadgets and souvenirs at The Market Hal shop like T-shirts, aprons, mugs, neck pads, polo’s, bean bags, umbrellas and bike boxes in the shape of The Market Hal or with the print of the artwork ‘Hoorn des Overvloeds’. The estimated flow of visitors is 5 to 7 million people per year.

markthal-merchandise

Rotterdam offers a nice piece of city branding, an inspiring example of city branding. Many cities are dreaming of the already achieved success of Rotterdam.  Amsterdam also has his own food market that is totally different. This food market is the second store- and success formula of supermarket retailer Jumbo (see picture). Nijmegen now also considers building a Market Hal.

Jumbo foodmarkt

Is a Market Hal for each city by definition a formula for success? What are the opportunities for shopping areas in other cities? What is important? Of course, copying is not wise. In most cases it is the tailor made concept that is developed from an integrated view on retail. Based on the condition that it fits the location and the target group that will visit that location.
The Business Level Model © for shopping areas, developed by Preneurl. provides insight into the tension and the interdependence of levels and factors within a shopping area.
Relevant (inter)national trends regarding shopping area development, fun shopping and creating experiences, new retail concepts, enhanced partnerships and distinctiveness through environmental quality should serve as inspiration and starting point.
The Business Level Model for shopping areas consists of 5 levels: Retailer, Sectoring, Shopping area, Area branding and Business. All levels are fully approached, although there is an issue on one of the levels.

To get a comprehensive view questions must be answered like: how can retailers contribute to and benefit from the shopping area in which they operate? What is the right mix of shops (hereby differentiate in strong (inter)national retailers and ‘local heroes’) to be interesting for the audience and let them return? What are the roles, functions and target groups of a shopping area? What is the unique positioning and branding that differentiates the shopping area from other shopping areas? How can ratios contribute to optimize the business?

Markthal kraam

The success of The Markthal in Rotterdam is also created because of the synergistic effect from the different levels of the shopping area model. It is a unique concept, developed and based on consumer demand. The Markthal offers added value for the city of Rotterdam and for a wide target group. The intention is that cannibalization with other shops will be limited.
Are you from retailers- or government perspective curious about the possibilities to create distinctiveness for your shopping area and looking for a sparring partner (both interim and / or project basis) to assist you in developing an integrated view of your shopping area? Or are you curious about the applicability of the most relevant trends on your shopping area (small or big) regarding shopping area development? Please send a message to info@preneurl.com and we will contact you to get acquainted without any obligations.

Monique Plantinga