Culinary and fashion newcomers in Wels

The Wels city center attracted up to 80,000 visitors on the past summer weekends. A number of new shops are waiting for them there. “We are where you can be in the best possible situation,” says city marketing manager Peter Jungreithmair.

The “Goldrausch” boutique recently opened in Schmidtgasse. The shop moved from the Cortana Passage to the prime location and offers Italian women’s and men’s fashion.

Hesitant retail giants

Across the Ringstrasse, “Cheesy Wheely” recently opened in Bäckergasse: young entrepreneur Emre Marcel serves fresh pasta tossed in a wheel of parmesan. A few doors down, however, the closure of “Con Via Tea” has left a new vacant space.

The former Bawag branch will be renovated starting in October. A branch of a large company is planned there – the city marketing department is also looking for a similar branch for the former Deichmann branch diagonally opposite.

“While we have many owner-operated shops in Schmidtgasse, Bäckergasse is more international,” says Jungreithmair. Large chains are currently hesitant to expand. “But shops in prime locations in Vienna, Salzburg and Linz are currently empty – the competition from online retailers is enormous,” says the city marketing manager.

Nevertheless, there are always interested parties for the Deichmann branch, for example. “It usually fails because of small things, but we keep at it,” says Jungreithmair. However, he is sticking to the goal of attracting international companies to Wels: “This is what the young audience expects. We are also in contact with these companies.” However, the priority remains for owner-operated stores.

Overall, he is satisfied with the situation, says Jungreithmair: “Thanks to online trading, locations like the Wels city center are moving away from being a supply center and towards a leisure center. That works, but not with every business model.”