Namur is concerned about losing his illustrious signs and historical businesses

Besides that, the city center remains attractive for many new shops.

There are shops that we think eternal.This is the case of the Atout house whose small showcase rue de l'Ange has been empty of its dog accessories since last December.She had been there for over 200 years.

The Vansiliette shoe shop, not far away, had closed just before celebrating its centenary.Between the two, other brands that have dressed or put on several generations of Namurois have put the key under the doormat.

Shoe or ready-to-wear stores, but also pharmacies, butchers, breweries ... The reasons?

The crisis affected Namur and doubled the number of empty commercial cells in 10 years.

Online trade has done a lot of damage and will continue to prune among the old generations, especially from stores that have not launched themselves online.

We are also talking about the cost of wages and the amount of commercial rents ...

But there are also more natural closures: lease ends or boarding school.Today, children often choose another professional orientation where shops were bequeathed from generation to generation in the past.

These most illustrious brands, these historic shops in the city center are too often replaced by a new generation of less unique businesses which attracts less shopping followers: snacks, night-shops, accessories for GSM, vaping, cannabis light ...

A mutation that some regret as the premiere of the Wérenne gallery."Before, we came to the butcher, to the cremerie and to my house following", regrets the shopkeeper who still holds it despite everything.In the same vein, others regret that the presence of Horeca predominates in certain streets which come alive while the stores are closed.

Besides that, several more unique, more trendy concept stores have bet on the center of Namur.But some are struggling and wondering if they will hold before the end of the work and the opening of the parking lots announced.

Because parking difficulties are most often mentioned to explain part of the Namur trade loss of speed.Because the drop in attractiveness is not general.Some new generation shops are doing very well.Like the cup’in who had to take a larger room.Or a small corner of umbrella whose dynamism is remarkable.

"Traders should be careful.They are responsible for the disaffection of their own customers.By dint of complaining about the lack of parking, they dissuade customers from moving.They are sawing the branch on which they are seated, "warn several experienced observers.

If the Namurois complain about the current situation, the exteriors are less critical.Admittedly, they regret not being able to park all day in front of their shop or their restaurant, but Namur seems more attractive to them than other cities, especially because of the major projects developed there.They bet on the future.

Juniors will close next month

Total liquidation for cessation of activities.The shop that has been chaussy for 33 years and offered orthopedic shoes on rue de l'Etra will close in April.Anne-Marie alias Annie and her two daughters will not have resisted online trade.

St Jean fabrics will close in July

The fabrics of Saint-Jean have occupied since 1982 the corner of the canon place Descamps in Namur, in the heart of the pedestrian.In 2011, Jean-François Dive took over the reins with his wife, accompanied by Nathalie who has been working there for thirty years.The shop is at the end of life and does not find a buyer.The closure is fixed at July.The opportunity for lovers to make provisions in their stock of clothing and furniture fabrics: this quality is not at every street corner.

Broze will close at the end of June

Broze closes its boutique in Namur Center (rue du President) at the end of June.By then, it is open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for total liquidation with progressive discounts.The store arrived at the end of the lease and the amount of rent as parking difficulties would have weighed in the scale.The periphery offers larger and accessible areas so the choice was quickly made: that of maintaining the Naninne store.

Darcis closed last month

It has been about a month since the Darcis shop has discreetly closed its doors on rue Haute Marcelle.No word on the door, no announcement anywhere, no reason advanced.The store has disappeared from the website of the famous Liégeois pastry chef Jean-Philippe Darcis, as if it had never existed.A sudden closure to relate to the judicial reorganization procedure which aims for bakery, chocolate and macaroons activities.The overall loss would be estimated today at 1.15 million euros

15 % empty shops, it's stable

Out of 1023 commercial cells in Namur, 196 are empty (15 %) and 827 in activity.

For Sylvie André, who deplores like many Namurois the disappearance of reference shops in particular, the situation is not slippery."In terms of empty cells, the city center is rather stable.From year to year, we are going around 15 %, "said Sylvie André, Director of Gau.

In February, the ASBL responsible for the animation of downtown Namur had 1023 commercial cells in Namur, including 827 in activity and 196 empty.

"Among these empty cells, 8 were under construction and are already re -stated, 13 are located in the Léopold square therefore pending and 47 outside the hypercentre: Jules Billiart, Borgnet, Brabant streets, fighters, ladiesWhite, Delvaux, Dewez, Gaillot, General Michel, De Gravières, Lelièvre, Du Lombard, Namèche, Notre-Dame, Saint-Nicolas, Boulevard Mélot and Place l'Inon ", distinguishes Sylvie André.

"The situation is obviously not ideal, we must remain vigilant," comments the one who sends the urban stewards in March to meet the barges in Namur to identify their expectations.

Gau is also preparing to launch a new series of Creashop scholarships.The former granted up to € 6,000 to traders who wanted to settle in two key axes in the city.The idea was to create a commercial dynamic with pedestrian path between the north of the basket at the confluence.

If the rue des Brasseurs has been a success and no longer has any empty trade area or almost, the Carmes/Croisiers district has not bitten the attraction of Creashop.