Consumption habits have changed. Especially after giving birth, giving pride of place to online shopping. Fashion doesn’t save money and to get by, physical stores – excluding large-scale retailers – need to be creative.
In Thionville as in Luxembourg City, some prêt-à-porter shops are doing well by cultivating difference and drawing inspiration from a concept imported from the south of France and Spain: shopping for aperitifs.
For Audrey, originally from Marseilles who recently moved to rue de Louvigny in the city of Luxembourg, the idea is part of a continuity. Pop-up stores housed in cafés and restaurants in the grand-ducal capital, she took the plunge and opened her own shop – My Little Corner – where she uses the same principle. “In Luxembourg shops close early (6pm), apéritif shopping is an opportunity to have the shop in private mode until 9pm with a glass of champagne and small snacks. It’s also a time to get together with friends, to chat, try on clothes, share a moment with the girls.”
A more intimate approach
Ardiana and Xhovana respectively manage the Atalante and Jo&Jo boutiques, rue de Jemmapes in Thionville and together they organize an event once a month which brings together part of their clientele around a buffet or an activity. “The idea is to make a difference by making our customers happy,” says Ardiana.
From the fashion show, to breakfast and the shopping aperitif, it is this conviviality that will trigger the desire to buy. “Meeting in the shop over an aperitif is also an opportunity to catch up on news, the certainty of having fun”, he continues the manager of the Atalante shoe brand. Especially since the shops open at night for the occasion (until 9pm in winter and 10pm in summer) offer the opportunity to take your time to try, discuss, share with friends and buy at your leisure.
“We are in a completely different, more intimate approach. As a result, shopping becomes a real pleasure, points out Audrey, of My Little Corner, whose prejudice consists in ordering only very few pieces. I keep the exclusive side with only two or three pieces per model and sometimes even showcasing unique models. A hesitant customer knows he won’t necessarily find her next week. »
The next appointment is set for December 8th. It will be December 24 for Atalante and Jo&Jo.
