In the centre of the Belgian city Mechelen, Dille & Kamille is opening its twelfth Belgian store, with some new features. The retailer is also busy expanding.
Attractive location
The Dutch chain opted for a location on the IJzerenleen, a charming shopping street in the very heart of the city. The picturesque building of 325 sq m had been the home to a carpet business called Van Caster for many years. Dille & Kamille preserved the structure of the building and turned it into a conveniently arranged, bright store where the daylight enters from the back of the store. “We always choose to adapt to the building, not the other way round,” says director Hans Geels.
Mechelen is the first Dille & Kamille store with a display unit “On our way to a plastic-free kitchen”, with sustainable kitchen items produced from natural and renewable materials. The piece of furniture was specifically designed for Ekoplaza and has, meanwhile, been installed at around twenty organic supermarkets, but now it is also used in the retailer’s own stores. Another novelty in Mechelen is a tea wall, which is intended to highlight the expertise of Dille & Kamille in the field of tea and infusions.
The Mechelen store is the twelfth in Belgium and number 37 in total for the chain. The retailer is thinking about opening a second store in Antwerp: a smaller point of sale in the city centre would allow the company to reach more tourists and day-trippers. In Belgium, the coastal region and the Walloon city of Namur are also high on the wish list. This autumn, Dille & Kamille will take another exciting step: the first German store will open in Cologne.
