The European culture, lifestyle and electronics chain is a tenant of the 1,800 square metre underground space, a project that has been several years in the offing.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday morning, general manager of Fnac Borre Belgium and Luxembourg Charles-Henri de Maleissye said the group had waited four years for this day. He added that he had been highly impressed with the reception he had received from local administration in making the country’s inaugural Fnac store a reality.

The store sells tickets to concerts, books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, hoverboards and scooters and even electric bikes. Photo: Nader Ghavami

The store employs 31 staff and stocks over 2,500 electronic products and accessories and 33,100 publications, including books in Luxembourgish. Customers can also order items from stores in France or Belgium, store manager Richard Hoitinga explained.

Fnac’s online offer has been extended to Luxembourg, and the e-shop fnac.lu was also launched on Thursday, enabling customers to have goods delivered to their homes free of charge, or to the store.

Hoitinga added that a collaboration was also underway between Luxembourg online shopping platform Lëtzshop. Work is in progress to automatise the sharing of data between Fnac’s online store and the Luxembourg platform, and he expected customers to be able to order Fnac goods via Lëtzshop in early 2020.

In addition to selling goods, the store plans to invite guests such as writers and musicians for small concerts or signing sessions. It has a modular space to allow for these events. The next such event will be a book signing with Stéphane Bern on 30 October from 2pm.

The official inauguration was reserved for the evening where celebrity cook and journalist Anne Faber and Luxembourg musician Gast Waltzing were special guests. Faber also provided the finger food for the reception.

Fnac is one of 16 shops expected to open at Royal Hamilius including Delhaize and Galeries Lafayette. The complex also includes office space, accommodation, restaurants and a rooftop garden.