The project
may not be known on an international stage, but it is famous in France. AFrench entrepreneur has undertaken a big project named la Jeune Rue. The
project was to buy the commercial real estate of a whole street in France in
order to transform a neighbourhood previously going in limbo into one of the
hypest place for foods, restaurants and entertainment.
The
entrepreneur set partnership with famous names of the design, and culinary
world. The project has been difficult to launch, as it requires massive amount
of money, combined with a lot of time to define the commercial offer it will
have.
For some
months now people are questioning where the project is heading, as investors
and some people who worked in the project don’t have clear answer when the
project will be achieved. A lot of rumors are roaming about the entrepreneur,
how much money he actually has, and if the project is still on.
I am not
here to discuss about how the project is undergoing as I don’t have much information.
I just wanted to share with you my vision of the project. I believe this is
just a great project that must have a future.
Indeed,
most of small merchants have been struggling, facing the competition of large
corporations, able to invest either in malls or large stores, or the Internet.
It is hence difficult to compete with those tycoons. Nevertheless, everyone
seems to agree that downtown commerce has a bright future aead of them, with
those same corporations that thrived out of town developing concepts to conquer
downtowns. How could small businesses compete?
By
proposing a strong concept, and by creating strong alliance. Indeed, downtowns
are interesting, with high traffic. It also can count on businesses that have
strong personalities, sometime with a unique shopping experience. A project
like la Jeune Rue is about proposing a comprehensive offer, with large
investments. And I believe this is the right approach. I am sure that if small
businesses could have the marketing power and the purchasing power required to
unleash the full potential of proximity business, it could have a great impact.
Now, what
the project shows, is that it is a difficult project to do, even though the
potential is clear:
-
It
requires a lot of money to invest
-
It
requires also to be able to work with a lot of different actors with different
needs, which complexify the decision making process.
Setting
this project in Paris, one of the most expensive real estate, is obviously more
difficult. I just hope the project will soon become real, with whoever can keep
the project on. Because if that works, I believe the worldwide potential would
be phenomenal.
