Every new opening in the center of Barcelona is good news in a context of pandemic and business closures. The urban landscape of premises with lowered blinds and "for rent" signs is already common, something unthinkable until very recently, when there was a fierce battle between big brands to locate themselves on strategic streets such as Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla Catalunya, or Portal de l'Àngel. It is estimated that the availability rate in these prime areas could already reach 30%.
Sephora's goal is to inaugurate the store in February, once the renovation works are completed. The French selective perfumery and cosmetics chain will thus strengthen its presence in the center of the Catalan capital, as it also has stores in Rambla Catalunya and in the El Triangle shopping center in Plaça Catalunya. Sephora belongs to the LVMH luxury group and has operated in Spain since 1998 in alliance with El Corte Inglés, with whom it created a joint venture for its expansion in the country.
In parallel, as reported by Idealista News, the consultancy Ascana has just brokered a new opening for the legendary jewelry firm Tiffany on Barcelona's golden mile. The iconic brand, famous for the film Breakfast at Tiffany's, will be located in a 400-square-meter premises at number 61 Passeig de Gràcia, on the corner with Valencia street. This is a property that until a few months ago was occupied by a CaixaBank office. Tiffany already had a jewelry store on the Barcelona promenade since 2010, located in the commercial premises of the Mandarin Hotel.
The openings of Sephora and Tiffany join the recent inauguration of the Week Day chain, owned by the H&M group, at the confluence of Passeig de Gràcia and Consell de Cent. On Barcelona's emblematic commercial artery, Moncler, Balenciaga, Nylstar, Golden Goose, and Messika have also recently opened their doors. Now, the most anticipated move in the area is the opening of Nike's megastore, one of the most prominent projects in Europe for the American multinational footwear and sportswear company. Nike's new flagship, which is practically finished, will have an area of 2,000 square meters and will be operated by the Italian group Percassi, which owns the Kiko Milano chain, according to the specialized website Modaes. Nike will open on the ground floor of a building that had housed the headquarters of Banco Popular in Catalunya and was acquired by the real estate company Hines. All floors of the property will be occupied by the American shared or flexible workspace company WeWork.
Armani moves
Another planned move on Passeig de Gràcia is the relocation of the Armani store. It will leave its historic location at number 6 to establish itself on the corner with Aragó street, where the Desigual store has just closed. Relocations now account for most of the major operations signed in the city center. A good example of this is the recent relocation of the Nespresso boutique, which has left the old Bulevard Rosa to reopen on Rambla Catalunya with Aragó.
On December 1, the Bimba y Lola store, located next to the one occupied by Nespresso, also closed. The brand has decided to concentrate on the store it owns on Rambla Catalunya. Now, in the part of the old Bulevard Rosa that faces Passeig de Gràcia, only a small Oro Gold store remains, a brand that is already renovating another premises on the opposite side of the street, where Timberland closed a few weeks ago. In this central section, in addition to Desigual, Nespresso, and Bimba y Lola, Liu·Jo and Lacoste have also lowered their shutters. Other closures that have occurred on the promenade coinciding with the pandemic are those of the Lotusse shoe store (next to Gran Via) and one of the two stores Oysho (Inditex) had.