De Bijenkorf to open largest luxury department in the Benelux

Dutch luxury department store De Bijenkorf recently announced that it is opening the largest luxury department in the Benelux, part of its development strategy of offering more luxury brands, in place since 2013. 

In the second half of 2016, the Amsterdam branch of De Bijenkorf will open a renovated ground floor space of 4,300 m², which will house its recently opened Beauty World, as well as an accessories department with newly introduced luxury brands and include shop-in-shops from Prada, Celine, Bottega Veneta and Dior.

FashionMag already reported earlier that Dior, according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, is opening its second Dutch point of sale at De Bijenkorf, and will stock leather goods, accessories and footwear.

In the new accessories department, De Bijenkorf will also introduce a new category: Swiss watches and jewelry, which will take up 500 m² and offer brands such as Cartier and Tiffany & Co (shop-in-shops). Under the name Watches of Switzerland, it will carry watches from brands like Omega, IWC, Jaeger-le-Coultre, Tudor, and Baume and Mercier. Longines and Rado, which are already available at De Bijenkorf, are opening their own shop. 

In August and September, the department store will also open a new designer and luxury department focused on womenswear, menswear and footwear. This will result in a total store space of 7,000 m², the largest luxury shopping experience in the Benelux.

The 1st floor will house a 500 m² menswear department. New brands will be added such as Givenchy, Balenciaga and Dsquared, as well as a sneaker concept with more than 60 brands, ranging from local names to international luxury brands. The new department will also give space to the first shop-in-shop concepts of Gucci and Tod’s in the Benelux. 

On the 2nd floor, the largest womenswear designer department in the Netherlands will open, with a 1,000 m² store space. The shopping destination will house new brands including Celine, Balenciaga, Chloé, Alexander McQueen and Gucci. De Bijenkorf will also introduce a personal shopping and styling service to its customer from this department.

The 3rd floor is designed to offer a 1,300 m² footwear department, making it the largest luxury footwear point of sale in the Benelux, with a range of more than 65 brands. New in the footwear collection are Gucci, Tod's, Tom Ford and Maison Martin Margiela. 

By Shomara Roosblad