New owners, new vision. 'The City Festival Hall brings wonder back to the Meir'

Creative interpretation for a historic building

The iconic Stadsfeestzaal on Antwerp's Meir is getting a new lease of life. Thanks to the efforts of new owners, a strong creative team and the clever use of footfall intelligence from The Retail Factory , the hall is once again becoming a vibrant center of retail and experience. We spoke with Philippe Blondé, creative director of the Stadsfeestzaal, and Jef Van Herck, commercial director at The Retail Factory, strategic partner to the retail sector by providing relevant and detailed footfall insights. "The Stadsfeestzaal recently has new owners who want to revive the hall and make it the heart of shopping in Antwerp again," says Philippe Blondé, creative director. "My role is to turn this place back into a creative and interesting location for shoppers in Antwerp." One of the first steps in that process was to remove elements and obstacles that did not match the historic value. "This way we ensure that there is more room for activities, entertainment and wonder. Today all the elements are fixed, but in the future we want to be able to use the hall in a modular way to enhance it. We're going to enlarge the activation zones to be able to focus even more on experience."

Evolution in shopping requires new approach

That that experience is essential, according to Philippe, has everything to do with how shopping behavior has changed over the years. "Today, people actually already see new things on their cell phones, at home. So today, as City Festival Hall, we need to go back to bringing the party back and giving people, in addition to their shopping essentials, wonder and entertainment, as it was historically."

To measure is to know

To support that ambition, the Stadsfeestzaal knocked on the door of The Retail Factory.Jef Van Herck, commercial director: "I know the location well, also as a visitor. It really is a beautiful location, and we are therefore particularly grateful to be able to effectively get to work creating footfall insights at the request of the new owner. We approach each project in the same way: first we analyze the need and the project, then we enter into a conversation with the partner about the challenges and needs. On that basis, we map out the possible insights and create a total project, fully tailored to the client's needs and with complete relief."

Understanding movement and behavior

The Retail Factory installed more than 30 sensors that generate data 24/7, fully GDPR compliant. The sensors provide concrete insights about the use of specific zones. "Of course we continuously measure the number of visitors and crowds, but we go much further than that. For example, we also map the proportion of men, women and children and analyze visitor flows throughout the building. Everything is aimed at optimizing the customer experience at this prime location," Jef said.

Philippe explains, "We even have sensors hanging on the toilets, obviously at the entrance and not in the toilet itself [laughs]. This allows us to measure how many people pass through there, whether there are long waits and whether there are bottlenecks that we can solve or improve. Everything contributes to a better overall experience." Those insights are relevant not only to City Party Hall management, but also to external partners. "Advertisers also like to know how many and which personas come to watch their activation. How many people see their campaign? At what times is it busy? When is the best time to schedule something?"

Data as a strategic foundation

In addition to practical applications, data is also invaluable strategically. "There are sometimes morethan 100,000 visitors a week here," Philippe explains. "There are a lot of things we are going to tackle in the coming years, and that's precisely why that data from The Retail Factory is super important, because as a medium we also need to look at how and when people come here. We need to be able to capture all of our visitors and see where they go, how that they walk and even where that they come from." Such insights are particularly valuable for a location with two main entrances, on Hopland and on the Meir. The data shows exactly how many people enter from the street, what routes they take through the building, how many visitors move through the central area or go to the first floor, and more. This provides a clear picture of the busiest areas and the times when those crowds occur.

Privacy remains a priority in this regard. Says Blondé, "It is of course very important today that if we use footfall data, we do so in a correct way." "We count people, but in no way recognize individuals," Jef explains. "No images are recorded, nopersoonsdata are stored, no persons are recognized yet. So everything is done completely GDPR)compliant, and that with an accuracy of 98%."

Long-term vision

Jef also firmly believes in the potential. "The new owner has ambitious plans and is handling them very thoughtfully. What I find very strong is that they are using data, not only to make decisions around future changes, but also to measure their impact before, during and after implementation. It's a long-term approach, and that fits our vision perfectly."

For Philippe, the revival of the City Festival Hall is more than a project. "It's a beautiful location, full of history, it shines along all sides." He sees it as a valuable assignment and looks forward to working with him on the redevelopment of the City Party Hall in the years to come. "That's precisely why we need to lay a foundation now so we can enhance it in the years to come. We are here in the shopping heart of the Meir, of Antwerp. It's a shopping city in Flanders so we just have to strengthen that. And data is one of the things we definitely need for this."

On the way to the renewed City "party" hall

Both men look to the future with ambition. "We are looking together with the new owners at the completely new interpretation and changes we are going to make in the coming months and years," says Philippe. "Everyone knows that the City Party Hall had kind of lost its grandeur from before in recent years. We are now changing that and we are going to work very hard on that. Above all, we want to get the 'party' back into the City Party Hall, that's step number one."  

Jef concurs: "For us, the project is just beginning. We are a strategic partner of the retail sector, which means that we not only help our customers on a technical level, but above all support them strategically, through our portal." Here, partners of The Retail Factory get a visual representation of data, can consult analyses and trends, and evaluate the impact of decisions together with the company. They continue to think strategically and innovate. The company fully supports the new strategy. Jef explains, "It is not just a new owner, but an organization with a clear passion for the city, the building and for the industry. I am sure that they will restore and upgrade this location. I am already looking forward to the "party" in the renovated City "party" hall!"

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