Store gallery: Department store Breuninger opens in Germany's fashion capital

But the same could be said of Germany, where operators such as Karstadt, Kaufhof and Peek & Cloppenburg all jostle for position in the department store stakes. And sitting at the top of the tree, as far as aspiration is concerned, is Stuttgart-based Breuninger.

This is a very upscale retailer and a little before Christmas, it opened its first store in Germany’s ‘fashion capital’, Düsseldorf. By any standards this is a large store at 172,222 sq ft. This makes it unusual in its own right because the number of new multi-floor department stores that make it away from the starters’ blocks in Europe in the current climate is very limited.

With five floors, four of them designed by HMKM and the basement level the handiwork of Liganova, the first thing that is likely to jump out at the visitor is the columns. They have been designed to look like palm trees and they take centre stage on the ground floor, where the mid-shop display equipment at the front has been fashioned to mirror their shape.

The store is an exercise in visual merchandising that is interesting and accessible. It may be an upmarket enterprise, but it still manages to feel inclusive. Practically, this means anything from caged figures suspended in the escalator atrium to groups of mannequins sporting carrier bags that are internally illuminated and bear designer names.

All of the usual department stores are located in Düsseldorf, but there is the sense, from time to time, that when you step into one, you could be in any of the others. Breuninger’s arrival means the city’s shoppers have something really different to peruse.