Rows of cars slide into the shopping center parking garages in fits and starts. Shoppers, on the hunt for Christmas gifts and the latest fresh ingredients for their Christmas dinners, have no choice but to join the back. It is a pleasant image for shopkeepers and market stall owners: customers still know where to find them.
The Friday market has been tactically moved to Christmas Eve this week. An experiment that goes well. “It’s quite busy. It’s not too bad,” says market manager Rob Schaut cheerfully.
Burdened with work
In times when many people do their shopping online, Amstelveen entrepreneurs are extra challenged by the lengthy reconstruction of the A9. A makeover of the shopping center doesn’t make it easy for them either.
Marco Mulders, chairman of the retailers’ association, looks back on a difficult year. “It’s been really bad; a lot quieter than normal.” Although the renovation of the A9 will take some time, Mulders hopes the worst is behind him. “Now that those new stores are opening up a bit, you see a lot of new faces.”
Golden times have arrived on the market. Market master Schaut: “On a normal Friday you can almost walk over people’s heads, it is so busy.”