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Lisbon: A return to past glories?
Portugal is best known these days in the UK as a much loved summer holiday destination, but does that label sell it short and is there a retail offer to match in this former gateway to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic? Our resident retail specialist Karl McKeever, brand director of Visual Thinking flew in to the capital, Lisbon, to find out.
The Lisbon region is the wealthiest in Portugal and produces 45% of Portuguese GDP. Its stock exchange is linked with those of Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and New York and its major industries consist of oil refineries, textiles, shipyards, steel and fishing, and it's a major media centre.
The city has a rich and spectacular variety of fine architecture, much of it built at the time when Lisbon's gateway to the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean brought wealth and prosperity to the city, through its thriving trading and port activities. This successful trade lives on today, but has changed in scale. It's no longer tall ships that fill the berths, but vast areas of sea containers and handling cranes.
Lisbon is well served with public transport and the metro connects destinations around the city centre with the upper, eastern districts and suburbs. But stepping back in time is much more fun with a journey on one of the city's traditional Lisbon trams.
As a result, Lisbon has a broad based ecconomy and is well served by many independent and national stores and many purpose built shopping centres, many of which have been built within the last 10 years. The biggest and best are found in the city's suburbs and include Centro Colombo.
For great shopping under one roof, visitors should take a metro out of the city and head for Colombo! This huge shopping centre has recently been built in the north west of the city and is one of one Europe's biggest, winning a host of major awards. With over 400 of the best fashion and home stores, Colombo has strong retail credentials, but it's more than that - it's a complete family entertainment venue with 65 restaurants, 10 cinema screens, a health club and indoor amusement park.
All kinds of stores are available and to make shopping easy, malls are organised into product sector groups. This attempts to bring like-minded brands and products together to minimise walking and maximise choice. However, some of the newest and best shops are not located in their specialist areas - including Natura, a brilliant organic babywear retailer.
During 2010, a new airport, major bridge, a 30 km extension to the metro and two additional TGV train lines are being built - with the latter joining Lisbon to Madrid and the rest of Europe. Some of this is as a direct response to the credit crunch where the Portuguese government has advanced projects to offset the collapse in commercial and residential building.
Lisbon has long been renowned for conservative dress, but the renaissance of the city has also translated into a wave of new funky fashion stores. Pick of the bunch are: Agencia, Rua do Norte 117, a 70s-style shop with a hairdresser and a bar; Fashion Gallery Atelier, Rua do Salitre 169, with its outrageous designs, and Godzilla, Rua dos Douradores 120, with its cutting edge club gear. Avenida da Liberdade and in the attractive Chiado district, to the west above Baixa is where designer brands are found and at the opposite extreme, Lisbon's famous outdoor market the Feira da Ladra (Thieves' Market), is packed with all sorts of bric-a-brac and provides an excuse to take an historic tram ride.
Baixa is the heart of Lisbon's downtown area. The recent rash of out of town mega malls may be gradually strangling many of the city's small shops, but the Baixa quarter proves the city has life in it yet with bustling daily life.
After the devastating Lisbon Earthquake disaster of 1775, much of the city was rebuilt. Strict conditions were imposed on the rebuilding of the city, and the current grid pattern in the Baixa area was laid. This is very different to the chaotic streetplan that characterised much of the area and rest of Lisbon before. Interestingly, The Pombaline Baixa is one of the first examples of earthquake-resistant construction.
I think the regeneration of Baixa should be Lisbon's, if not Portugal's, next big project. And, it's fair to say work should be done to preserve this beautiful marbled area. Sadly, only one in three of the buildings here offer a credible standard of shopping, dining, or entertainment for visitors. Its magnificent black and white patterned cobbled streets are both beautiful and in their current state - quite hazardous too. Visitors should take care not to trip!
Other buildings are either vacant or declining and whilst the balance has not yet been tipped over negatively, it would not take much to make Baixa an urban ghetto. However, there are many strong brands and companies who have recently invested, and if this trend were to increase, Baixa could be cool once again.
The Chiado is a shopping area that mixes a dynamic blend of traditional and modern retail. At the top of Rua do Carmo, is the site of former Armazém department store, raized to the ground by the catastrophic 1988 Chiado fire. Here, on August 25th, a small fire started in a shop that quickly spread and went on to destroy a total of 18 buildings, including several other historic stores. The Chiado fire is considered the worst disaster to strike the city since the 1755 Great Lisbon Earthquake. A rebuilding project directed by celebrated Portuguese architect Siza Vieira has, to a great extent, returned the area to its former glory.
Over 10 years in the making, the exterior look of the destroyed buildings was restored and many historic interiors completely renovated including the former department Armazém store, which has now reopened as a shopping centre. Its new look opened together with the extension of the metro from Rossio and Restauradores, which has made visiting Chiado quick and easy.
The Bairro Alto area exists as Lisbon's residential, shopping and entertainment district. It's the heart of Lisbon's youth scene and the Portuguese capital's nightlife where Punk, Gay, Metal, Goth, Hip Hop and Reggae scenes live side by side. There are also an emerging number of retailers tucked away in the almost un-navigable streets.
In the Barrio Alto, I discovered an Azulejo tiles store in an unmarked location, which sells all kinds of second hand tiles. This emporium of beautifully glazed terracotta squares, buys old tiles from demolition and house clearance sites to resell to builders and architects.
What became apparent from spending time instore was how the place was much than just a reclaim shop. It was a vibrant social experience and offering something of real value to the city. From private individuals looking to match or find a missing tile to finish their home, to smart interior designers looking for items to make a bold new statement in a designer store, the owners were providing a vital link to Lisbon's past and future. I can't see how such a store would exist in modern Britain with our disposable, fast fashion, gone today, Ikea tomorrow attitude.
This experience seemed in a simple way to sum up so much about Lisbon life; combining modern facilities and benefits with references to the past woven in and preserved. This helps to retain a unique character to the city centre and is similar to the culture that exists in modern Lisbon today. Open, progressive and social but deeply respectful to its traditional past and values.
Mostly through Lisbon, Portugal is doing its best to become a modern, industrious, creative and successful player. In many ways it does seem to be like the story of Ireland - once second league, agricultural and overshadowed by its bigger neighbour. The EU offered Portugal a route to new prosperity and to play as part of a bigger league, and although it was wounded by the credit crunch, Lisbon is testament to Portugal's will to keep going.
Retail in the city is not great, with pockets of good, but not much in between! Its new malls are credible, but not groundbreaking, but the underlying conditions for something better are there - thanks to the infrastructure investment and the like. I think that with a little imagination, investment and vision the Baixa could be a new Barcelona Waterfront or Munich City square. Given the enterprise, spirit and attitude of the Portuguese I think it's possible.