Bruuns Galleri in Aarhus turns 20. The twenty years have been good, says Regional Centre Manager Claus Brændgaard: "There are several parameters by which we can measure the success of Bruuns Galleri. Among other things, I note that more than 20 stores have been here for all 20 years. Our occupancy rate has been at an extremely satisfactory level in relation to the leased area throughout the years. The number of guests visiting us has been stable at 11 million per year for the past 10 years, except during the pandemic, of course."

Bruuns Galleri is the most visited shopping center in Denmark, and despite the many visitors, Claus Brændgaard believes that it has had an overall positive attraction for retailers in the center of Aarhus.

I believe that Bruuns Galleri helps to connect the city centre. If you take an axis from Frederiksbjerg with Jægergårdsgade, past us and down to Strøget and further down into the Latin Quarter, it makes Aarhus an incredibly good shopping city for both the people of Aarhus and the many who will visit Aarhus to shop. In this way, retail is brilliant in Aarhus, with a long shopping axis that we are centrally located, he explains.

A strength of being part of the Steen & Strøm and Klépierre Group The strategy for the coming years in Bruuns Galleri is clear: the goals are to continue to optimize the customer experience both online and physically - and to attract the best stores and brands to ensure the best customer experience. The ESG agenda will receive even more focus, along with the sustainability agenda and the preparation of the Climate Account.

We must continue to attract the store owners and retail chains to make them aware of Bruuns Galleri as a good place to do business. We have a strength in being part of Steen & Strøm - Scandinavia’s leading shopping center company - which is part of Europe’s leading shopping centre group, Klepierre, as our retail network is large, and we have the potential to attract and connect with even more international and national brands. We have 11 million visitors a year and that number is quite good, our task is not necessarily to attract more, but to inspire them to shop a bit more, he states.

Bruuns Galleri - in good shape

According to Claus Brændgaard, age doesn’t affect the city’s most visited shopping center, which still looks great and sharp.

We are constantly working to create the best range of shops to keep it lively, up-to-date and attractive for our visitors. Of course, the physical environment is also important, and I believe we are doing well. We look younger than our 20 years when you take a walk down the center’s aisles. We work closely with the store owners, who are constantly updating their stores to keep them modern and inspiring, he emphasizes.

The retail industry has undergone a revolution in the 20 years since Bruuns Galleri opened. Claus Brændgaard points out, among other things, the rise of social media and online shopping.

Social media has become a branding universe we couldn’t have imagined back in 2003. Now our digital presence has become the most important parameter in terms of being at the forefront of people’s minds. We used to publish a monthly magazine, but now we’re active 24/7. We offer inspiration to customers today that we couldn’t possibly have imagined in the beginning. For example, no one would have predicted that we now have three pick up points in the centre, delivering 100,000 parcels a year. Internet webshops have been a big part of our concerns over the years, but it turns out that the social aspect of shopping with friends, the opportunity to physically touch, see and test things and personal advice are still very important to people. Today, online shopping and sales in physical stores are co-operating with each other and not as opponents, as retailers feared for many years, explains Claus Brændgaard.

A commitment to become the most sustainable platform for commerce by 2030 ESG as a concept has become a natural part of everyday life at Bruuns Galleri. This has resulted in close collaborations, including a long-term partnership with Danske Hospitalsklovne through the Bamsehospitalet and Klovneløb and recurring Byt-til-Nyt events. In addition, the stores’ ESG initiatives are super important in their communication to customers. With an updated ESG strategy, Bruuns Galleri, together with the other ten shopping centres in Scandinavia’s leading shopping centre company Steen & Strøm, aims to become the most sustainable platform for commerce by 2030.

We naturally check in with the current agendas. Sustainability is a high priority, and we are constantly developing new initiatives such as waste sorting with 27 fractions, energy-saving initiatives where we have saved a third of our energy over the past five years. In comparison, we only had very few sorting systems when Bruuns Galleri opened in 2003, Claus Brændgaard concludes.