Worrying observation in the city of Liège. The center is empty of its shops. One out of 5 commercial areas is empty. The causes are multiple.
Near Place Cathédrale, in the hypercentre of Liège, the observation is clear: signs are empty with disillusioned passers-by. “I pass by almost every day. I see almost every business closing one following another. There will soon be no life anywhere”, regrets a passerby at the microphone of RTL info 1 p.m. Another continues:It’s a bit sad. Everyone liked to shop here. When everything closes, it doesn’t make us want to come.”
Accessibility to Liège is dramatic
How can you also find the strength to work in such a hostile economic environment? This is the message posted by Alexia, trader. Her concept has been working for a year and a half, but when she leaves her house, too many empty shops. So before taking on the water, she made the difficult decision to close in a few weeks. “The first problem is Liège. The city center is no longer what it was ten years ago. Everything closes. There is a difficulty to park, to find a location. Accessibility to Liège is dramatic.”
The numbers prove Alexia right. Ten years ago, barely 2.8% of commercial spaces were unoccupied. Today, more than 20%, or one in five trades. The reasons are many: mobility, begging, cost of charges for merchants and increasing consumption on the net. Liège is still looking for the right formula like many big cities in Europe.