LaBels is a new concept store developed by AG Real Estate in partnership with Caroline Wijns, founder of CDKN & Friends.
It will bring together brands with a Belgian touch in three different stores that will open their doors during the month of October in some of AG Real Estate’s shopping centres.
With LaBelS, AG Real Estate aims to help develop the reputation of young brands. The shopping centres that will host this new initiative by our Retail team are: Shopping Gent Zuid in Ghent, Galeries St Lambert in Liège, and Galeries Anspach in the heart of Brussels. The aim is to facilitate access, for customers of the shopping centres in question, to local, artisanal and sustainable products, while boosting commercial appeal.
LaBelS, home of local brands
A bit of storytelling... LaBelS reflects our national pride and the extraordinary creativity of local entrepreneurs. What they offer: innovative products and brands geared to the commercial mix of each city where this project is implemented.
Carefully selected by AG Real Estate’s Retail team in consultation with Caroline Wijns, who has the opening of over fifty concept stores in Belgium to her credit, participants in this initiative will bring undisputed added value to the three shopping centres that will host them.
Three openings staggered over the month of October.
The first concept store to open is the one at Shopping Gent Zuid on Saturday 8 October. Here customers will find jewellery by the Ghent-based designer Eva Juwelen, the Flemish beer Kerel, Sqon bathroom beauty products, vegan skincare products by Super Duper Body and organically grown plants by Ympa, among a total of around forty brands.
On 15 October the Galeries St Lambert store will welcome its first customers to present its selection to them: Loca and its jewellery made of recycled leather, Liège-based Flak Beer where each beer has its own music playlist, Lidjeu soaps, Zoned Clothing’s streetwear collection as well as Occhiolini’s olive oil and limoncello. Over fifty entrepreneurs will have their products on sale.
And last but not least, the Anspach concept store will be inaugurated on 22 October. The selection of the thirty participating brands is still under way. We can already confirm: Moov360, the ethical and eco-friendly Belgian sportswear brand, beers by Brussels Beer Project, jewellery by Camille Belgian Creation, colourful candles by K’Naille, and detox recipe books by Aurélie Glorieux.
The range offered by LaBelS concept stores will be underpinned by several already well-established Belgian brands like De Witte Lietaer, B-Shirts and Hedgren.
Caroline Wijns, founder of CDKN & Friends, adds: ‘The desire to collaborate with other parties is truly in our DNA. Joining forces with AG Real Estate can only bring positive results. We’re eager to see LaBelS take shape, it’s a unique concept store where local talents will be the centre of attention, and where visitors will have an incredible shopping experience.’
Sam Perneel, Head of Asset Management Retail, comments: ‘Focusing on customer experience also means introducing customers to local concepts by showcasing them in our shopping centres, which attract a large number of visitors. With LaBelS, we hope to hunt down concepts destined for a bright future, and which may even stay for the longer term at Anspach, Gent Zuid or Galeries St Lambert. The retail market has recently opened up to niche stores, reinforcing this approach.’
Arranged in a warm and cosy style, the three new stores will encourage browsing and invite visitors to discover a whole range of items and inventive gifts. An unmissable shopping destination.
