After nine years as president of the City of Luxembourg’s retail association, (UCVL), Guill Kaempff is passing the torch to former vice-president Mireille Rahmé-Bley. She,was elected to the post at a general assembly. Kaempff will serve as the UCVL’s honorary president.

The association’s board of directors is now composed of two vice-presidents: Malvina Gelezuinas and Dan Gantrel, secretary, Myriam Abid and treasurer, Donato Pascalicchio alongside also ten directors: Danièle Arend-Weber, Fabiana Bartolozzi, Fabienne Belnou, Nicolas Bonnefoy, Julien Dos Santos, Enza Fuzio, Maurice Groben, Philippe Huger, Alicia Kerber and Eric Santeramo.

Fewer openings and fewer members

At its AGM, the association took stock of a particularly difficult year. Despite the crisis, the number of shop closures in the city centre has been stable compared to previous years. On the other hand, there has been a clear drop in the number of new shop openings. Some international retailers have closed some of their physical outlets and have invested more in a digital strategy. Shopping streets have suffered while local shops have been redeveloped in residential areas.

THE UCVL currently has 448 members, including 20 who joined in 2020. But 34 former members closed their business and a further 9 terminated their membership. In 2018, there were 490 members. Last year the UCVL redesigned its cityshopping.lu website and joined the Confédération luxembourgeois du Commerce (CLC) as an associate member.

Before handing over the reins, Kaempff talked about the major issues on which the association will have to continue working. Among them are "multiple building sites, car parks closed for renovation, accessibility problems in the city centre and lack of security.”