Session -- Market Trends: How New and Old Public Markets Stay Relevant in Today’s Competitive Marketplace René Van Gool is Owner and Managing Director of VGA Food Concepts and Development/Markthal Rotterdam in The Hague, Netherlands.

1. RENÉ VAN GOOL
Market Trends: How New and
Old Public Markets Stay
Relevant in Today’s Competitive
Marketplace
Owner and Managing Director
VGA Food Concepts and
Development/ Markthal Rotterdam

2. Rotterdam Market Hall
René Van Gool

3. Rotterdam once was like any European city

4. Until May 1940

5. It then had to reinvent itself

6. City centre of Rotterdam & location Market Hall
Train &
subway
station
WTC
Cathedral
Market
Hall
Main shopping street
Open air
market
The City as it had transformed towards the 21st century

7. Late nineties: Outdoor Market in decline

8. Part of national trend
Why?
• Impractical opening times
• One dimensional offer: no variety in product stages
• Climate, hygiene & safety issues
• No public facilities
• Pricing is “mythical” (always best offer?)
• Provenance is often unclear
• Waste management not in place
• Consumer is taken for granted

9. European trend in Food Retail
• Today's reality
No counterbalance possible
Because of supermarkets’ financial power
Supermarket dominance
90
92
94
96
98
100
102
104
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Index number of food storesThe Netherlands:2007 = 100
Supermarkets
Food specialists
80
90
100
110
120
130
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Index Retail turnover The Netherlands: 2005 = 100
Supermarkets
Food specialists

10. Rotterdam council saw covered market as solution
Key question was: for whom?
• Last market stall owner standing?
• Food retailers being swamped by supermarkets?
• Council who wanted to privatize?
Being the first Market Hall ever and now in the private domain,
we could develop as we saw fit.
Break the mold and start from scratch.

11. Key Choice
They demand:
• Availability
• Choice
• Service
• Convenience
Renewed focus on the consumer!

12. How?
• Teaming up: a variety of food retailers working together
• Complete offer in all imaginable stages of preparation
• Blurring is essential
• Eat in, Eat out, Eat all!
Through scale and diversity!

13. • Winning sketch: integrated design by MVRDV architects
Iconic architectureYou need an Iconic building for that

14. Market Hall Rotterdam: L 125 m x W 75 m X H 45 m

15. Cross cut Market Hall Rotterdam

16. Cross cut Cross cut

17. Stalls
± 3.300 m²
Restaurants and Cafés
± 2.400 m²
Supermarket
± 1.800 m²
Parking
1.200 spaces
Retail
± 4.500 m²
Apartments:
228
Total
Program
± 12.000 m²
What will you find inside the Hall?

18. Sustainable
Organic
(self)
Service
Local Heroes
Multicultural
Traceable
Affordable
Themes

19. Grote Marktstraat
Binnenrotte
Blaak
Ground floor lay out designed in cooperation with Mercasa

20. Distribution of products & Commercial Mix

21. ERWARTETE BESUCHERZAHL DER MARKTHALLE IN
ROTTERDAM
A maximum amount of visitors of:
Bron: Locatus Winkelpassantentelling Rotterdam Centrum Oost 2011, bewerking door VGA, Conceptional en Corio
A minimum amount of visitors of:
maandag dinsdag woensdag donderdag vrijdag zaterdag zondag totaal per jaar
560.000 980.000 980.000 1.050.000 1.120.000 1.330.000 980.000 7.000.000
8% 14% 14% 15% 16% 19% 14% 100%
maandag dinsdag woensdag donderdag vrijdag zaterdag zondag totaal per jaar
360.000 630.000 630.000 675.000 720.000 855.000 630.000 4.500.000
8% 14% 14% 15% 16% 19% 14% 100%
ESTIMATES PRIOR TO OPENING
With an estimated turn over of 62 to 69 million

22. The Context

23. The content

24. Cross cut The Stalls

25. Cross cut The Stalls

26. Cross cut People “ like” the Market Hall actively

27. 5th million visitor expected in April
Reality: amount of visitors up till now
2015: weekly average of 135.000 visitors per week
7 million people expected over year 1
Estimated turn over 2015 61 million

28. :Negative
-Younger generations avoid: too busy & too exclusive
- Building still major reason for visiting
- Not yet seen as place to purchase food daily
Does consumer profile fit with estimate?
Positive:
- Strong regional presence
- Important local group has yet to come
- Visiting frequency is on the increase (twice a week)
- Average spending also on the up

29. Key indicator: Net Promotor Score (NPS)
Very high NPS score, Rotterdam feels proud (Dutch average is -/- 3%!)

30. Next steps: more chances
• Climate + atmosphere: a constant climate has to be achieved
• More “Blurring” is essential: many retailers still traditional, new approach needed
• No one dimensional sales unless highly specialized: complete offer in all stages of
preparation
• More (price-)choice & competition: especially in fish
• More working together making offer complete
• Marketing: away from context, more on content
• Service: From home delivery to personal shopping
• Accessibility: even longer opening times, Sunday in particular
• More focus on regional produce and shortening of the food chain
• Special focus on health, education and children.
• Visitors have to treat Hall as “ their domain” a home from home

31. My advice? Rotterdam is the city to see. Come and visit!

32. Thank you for your attention!