Long -long queue for shop opening in Ghent: « Got up at 3.30 pm, actually we have to be at school » (Ghent)

From the former Esprit building in Veldstraat, all the way through the Voldersstraat to the Korte Meer: hundreds of people joined on Thursday morning for the opening of the new Douglas location, the first in Ghent. It is not necessary to say that it is a popular chain.

The store only opened at ten o’clock, but many young girls had set their alarm clock extra early. After all, the first 200 customers would get a goodie bag. « We have been here since 7 am and are very curious, » says a girlfriend group in their twenties from Ghent.

Two teenage girls are the first in line. « We actually have to be at school, » they say. « We come from Zelzate and have risen at 3.30 pm to be here at 5 am. We come for the goodie bag, and are curious about the store. »

Free things

A group of students cleverly tackled it: they took camping chairs and their courses to continue working in the meantime. « I think it’s so busy because people always love free things, » says a student.

« A branch recently opened in Genk and therefore people were able to see what is in those goodbags, » the student continues. « It is worth it. I think it would not have been busy if the opening had fallen during the holidays, because then everyone could come from the middle. »

Anyone who occasionally searches for beauty products online will undoubtedly know the German drugstore chain. But until 2023, Parfumerie Douglas had no physical stores in our country. In the meantime, there are shops in Antwerp, Sint-Niklaas, Leuven, Turnhout and Genk. This is the seventh branch that opens the German Beautyus in our country.

Well -known brands

Even earlier openings, customers were always in rows. The store is known from Tiktok, and you will find a wide range of beauty products, ranging from perfumes and makeup to facial products and soap.

« We are now a bit common in the meantime, » says Dorothee Van Goethem, area manager Douglas Belgium. « There is indeed a huge row. I think that popularity is because of the very nice goodie bag that you get. There are products from different brands in it. Douglas is also popular because we sell brands such as Kylie Cosmetics or Sol de Janeiro, which you cannot find in other places. »

On Thursday, the new location of ICI Paris XL in Veldstraat also opened the doors. There too it was joining, but a lot less long. Last week there was a huge row in Ghent for another store: the sale of the Casa on the Korenmarkt also became a rush.

Read too. Stormloop on Ghent Casa by sale after bankruptcy: First customers were already at the door at six in the morning