Berlaar (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Berlaar’s Wednesday market moved back to the central Marktplein, improving visibility. Jerry Moyson returned after poor sales in Smidstraat. Patrick Dams praised the central location’s impact.
As VRT News reported, after the market in Berlaar, a municipality in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, moved to Smidstraat, a lot of the vendors noticed they weren’t getting as many customers. They mentioned that the main problem was that the new location wasn’t very visible.
Jerry Moyson, who sells at the market and is from Heist-op-den-Berg, was one of the vendors who felt this the most. He ended up leaving the market because people couldn’t easily find his stall, and his sales went way down.
Jerry explained that what makes a market good is when people can just wander by, see the stalls, try out the products, and become regular customers. The old location just didn’t allow for that kind of interaction.
The market has moved to a much better and more visible spot, Jerry has decided to return. He thinks the market in Berlaar is “fantastic” and that it’s really important for as many people as possible to be able to see it.
What are the plans for Berlaar Market’s location?
Other sellers agree with Jerry and are happy about the market moving to the centre of the village. Patrick Dams, who has a busy hamburger stand, says it’s important for the market to be in the middle of everything.
He says this helps the people who come to the market because it’s easier to get to, and it also helps the sellers because more people see their stalls. Now that the market is back in a busier area, the sellers are feeling good and hopeful that more people will come.
Wim Soons, who is in charge of Local Economy, said they don’t know exactly when the work will start on the Marktplein. He mentioned that this creates a problem because they have to make plans for the market to be somewhere else for a while, but they also need to be ready to change those plans later on, depending on when the work begins.
The local government wanted to know what the market sellers thought about where the market should be held. Instead of just telling them what to do, they asked the sellers for their ideas. The sellers decided the market should usually be on the Marktplein, which is where it has always been. They mentioned that if they need more space, they can also use Smidstraat. This plan keeps the market in the centre of town.
