A three-year, €100 million investment
Klépierre, the leading pure play shopping center property company in Europe, and AXA IM – Real Assets – acting on behalf of one of its clients – have built an exceptional extension, which will open to the public tomorrow.
The construction project, which took place over TGV high-speed rail lines, required the use of the largest crane in Europe. The crane’s boom towered at 126 meters to put in place the extension’s glass roof 24 meters above ground.
The “Place des Étoiles,” a spectacular glass-and-steel canopy inspired by the architecture of the “Grand Palais” in Paris, boasts the biggest OLED lighting fixture in Europe: 65 meters long, with more than 6,000 light spots. Shop windows stretch nine meters high, allowing brands to offer shoppers entirely new customer experiences.
Emotion and surprises
With 30 new stores – including some flagships – Val d’Europe gives pride of place to brands such as Uniqlo, Nike, Rituals, H&M, Bershka, NYX Professional Makeup, and Primark. In addition, this extraordinary mall offers unique events and services throughout the year.
In line with Klépierre’s “Destination Food” approach to its malls, Val d’Europe’s focus on the customer experience extends to its refreshing food offering in a unique setting and atmosphere. This focus also extends to fun and entertaining events inspired by Klépierre’s Clubstore® concept.
This notably involves a redesigned welcome experience with more mobile teams (hostesses on Segways, for example, and a tricycle delivering drinking water to shoppers), time-saving services (gift parcel shipping using the express Colissimo service directly from the mall), an enhanced and customised mobile app, and bigger and more interactive play areas for children.
Jean-Marc Jestin, Chairman of the Klépierre Executive Board, commented: “Val d’Europe is one of the most important projects for Klépierre this year, along with Hoog Catharijne in Utrecht and Prado in Marseille. Our team has worked very hard and I am proud of the results they have achieved. Val d’Europe epitomises the best of what Klépierre can offer our retailers and consumers.”