Why is the worst shopping street in the Netherlands so bad?

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May 6, 2024, 7:55 am

There is a note with red letters on the two large glass doors: DEFECTIVE. It is typical of the situation in which the Molenpoort Passage in the center of Nijmegen finds itself. Even the doors of the entrance to the passage do not work. According to national research by real estate advisor Colliers, the Molenpoort is the worst shopping location in the Netherlands. No fewer than 16 of the 49 stores are empty.

In the outdated passage there are texts on the windows such as ‘We have moved’ and ‘Closing sale’. The flags on the ceiling with ‘happy shopping’ are in stark contrast to the appearance of this covered shopping street in Nijmegen. There is very little to do on the top of the two floors. Two employees of the Poort van Nijmegen cafe are sitting on a bench, talking to each other, bored. It is lunchtime after all.

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“There is indeed very little shopping on offer,” says an employee of Moenen Outlet. This store is part of Moenen Woningartikelen, which is located just outside the passage. This furniture store can rent the building in the passage relatively cheaply, in order to be able to offer outlet products for sale here. “We gave it a chance, otherwise this building would be empty anyway. Opposite this, we have hung some rugs in a shop, so that it does not look so empty.”

That is why more and more pop-up stores, vintage shops and artists’ studios are popping up. They can use the space cheaply, despite being in the center of a bustling city. But this passage in Nijmegen is not the only one that suffers from the many vacancies. “Passages have always been difficult,” says Jorine de Soet, a retail consultant who has worked in the retail and retail real estate market for more than 30 years. “They were often built because it was a trend at the time, but at a time when we had less knowledge and insight into the functioning of retail areas. We did not yet know all the criteria that are important for a successful shopping area.” (See box below, ed.)

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Several passages have never been or became a success

“It’s a bit of a general trend, right?” says the Moenen employee. “Passages are a bit over.” De Soet responds: “Funny to hear, because several passages have never been or never became a success.”

According to De Soet, one of the biggest problems with passages is where many passages have been realized. “A passage must have a good connection (the entrances and exits must connect well) to the shopping area, with destinations that are targeted on both sides. It must provide a clear connection between two attractive places,” says De Soet, who has also been a center manager in various cities for many years. She mentions the relatively recent Beurspassage in Amsterdam as a good example. Not only because of the beautiful decoration, but especially because of the presence of several important shops. “People walk there from the Primark and C&A branches to the Bijenkorf. That’s functional. People have to walk from something to something, to a destination. In between, they are tempted to make impulse purchases, among other things. Such a structure is very important for the success of a passage.”

That is different in Nijmegen. The only attraction seems to be the nail salon or the supermarket. Baby shop Prénatal left last year due to aging in the passage and to make matters worse, Big Bizar went bankrupt. Visitors and local residents complain about junkies and vagrants in and around the Molenpoort. There has also been talk for some time about a thorough renovation of the Molenpoort. “That should actually have been ready already,” sighs the Moenen Outlet employee.

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The municipality now plans to thoroughly tackle the passage in 2026. The roof with the parking deck will be removed, making it an open street with apartments and greenery on top of the shops. “Living and greenery are of course very contemporary,” says De Soet. “Over the past 15 to 20 years, we have created many more retail meters than the market can absorb in the Netherlands. Moreover, we are in a changing era,” she says, referring to Jan Rotmans’ book, Embrace the chaos. “We are more environmentally conscious, greed is decreasing and the internet is also an important alternative purchasing location.”

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Until then, the Molenpoort will remain open. Not a hopeful prospect for the employees who are already waiting in vain for customers. That could be a long two years. “It is sometimes said that they are bad entrepreneurs,” says De Soet. “But I think that’s too simplistic. It is also nonsense that ‘location, location, location’ would be replaced by ‘experience, experience, experience’. The place where you do business is still very important.”

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“It could become attractive because rents will be somewhat lower,” says De Soet. “And first take a good look on the spot to see how many people are shopping in such a passage. And do they have bags? They may be visitors, but do they also buy something? Also look at who your colleagues are. Are you of added value to each other? Then you can use that. You can also pay attention to the design of the passage. A high ceiling often works well, otherwise it becomes such a low mouse hole. You also want a lot of natural light. And see whether the passage connects attractive locations or runs from nothing to nothing on one or more sides.

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