Delano October-November 2019

No. 68 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

RETAIL IN TRANSITION

28 COMMERCE

High street blues Traditional retailers face up to online competition, accessibility challenges and sprouting shopping malls

52 FUNDS Mancos under the microscope

CULTURE Tom Leick-Burns on developments at Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg 5 453000

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

82

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European politics

No. 68 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

RETAIL IN TRANSITION

28 COMMERCE

High street blues Traditional retailers face up to online competition, accessibility challenges and sprouting shopping malls

52 FUNDS Mancos under the microscope SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

82 CULTURE Tom Leick-Burns on developments at Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg 5 453000 010015

↑

68

€4

No. 68 01_delano_cover.indd 1

16/09/2019 12:00

ILUSTRATING DELANO The cover for this edition, based on an idea by Francesco Bongionri, was illustrated by French graphic artist Corentin Andreosso.

He enjoys the vast range of work that his job entails but is especially passionate about layout and illustration. ↳ www.corentin-andreosso.fr

On this page, in our June edition, the argument was made for Margrethe Vestager to become the first female president of the European Commission.

The way things have panned out, that first female president is the compromise candidate Ursula von der Leyen, whose nomination drew sharp criticism from those aware of her track record as Germany’s defence minister. But von der Leyen has managed to take the sting out of much of that criticism by appointing three executive vice presidents who give the commission renewed strength and with what many observers see as a, mostly, clever distribution of portfolios.

“Mostly” clever, because one of the major talking points was the title of commissioner for “protecting our European way of life” that von der Leyen bestowed upon Margarítis Schinás. The Greek, a veteran of the Berlaymont, will actually oversee migration policy, and it is that which critics, including JeanClaude Juncker, find offensive as they called the wording of the title a “dog whistle” that inferred migrants and refugees pose a threat to Europe’s way of life.

Some observers have also noted that there is no commissioner in charge of culture and that neither “research” or “science” are included in some of the rather descriptive job titles von der Leyen has given her commissioners (in reality, Bulgarian commissioner Mariya Gabriel will take charge of research under the “innovation and youth” portfolio). By comparison, Luxembourg’s former LSAP employment minister Nicolas Schmit has a relatively straight forward job description as he suitably takes on the “jobs” portfolio.

But Frans Timmermans’ work on the European Green Deal will be vital, and it will be interesting to see how his fellow executive VP, Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, fares as he inherits economy and finance from Pierre Moscovici and also takes on the role of coordinating an “economy that works for people”.

The most eye-catching appointment, though, was of Vestager in dual roles as executive VP coordinating the “Europe fit for the digital age” agenda and continuing her job as commissioner for competition. Renowned for already taking a hard-line against the likes of Google and Facebook, and rubbing US president Donald Trump the wrong way in the process, Politico reckons the Danish commissioner will have “unprecedented power to direct how Europe tackles the dominance of Big Tech”. This is critical as the four GAFA seek to expand their reach and enter new markets.

But equally crucial will be Vestager’s mission to make Europe more globally competitive in several aspects of digital technology, most notably artificial intelligence and big data, and to improve its cybersecurity. She may not have landed the top job, but Vestager may just turn out to be the most important commissioner on the team, and one who will be difficult to keep out of the headlines.

Duncan Roberts Editor-in-chief

Letter from the editor

Commission puts GAFA on alert

3

Enjoy an exceptional moment in the luxury of Le Royal. Dive into the music at the Piano Bar and sip cocktails in a cosy armchair. That’s life, live nights, jazz and cigars.

Le Royal Hotels & Resorts • L-2449 Luxembourg • 12, boulevard Royal T (+352) 24 16 16 1 • restauration-lux@leroyal.com leroyalluxembourg.com

September/October 2019 Reporting on the community

FEATURES

Analysis of business, the economy and politics

8

THE SOURCE

A guide to culture and lifestyle

82

DIGNITY IN ACTION

Interview

CURTAIN UP Tom Leick-Burns shares his thoughts on support for local artists and the 2019/20 season

9 STROKE RECOVERY

11

86

JAPANESE SOUL FOOD

On stage

OUTSTANDING MUSICIANS

12 CYCLING TO WORK

14 MIDWIVES STAMP

16 In my suitcase

QUICKLY DEVELOPING TIES What Yi Wang brought when he moved here

28

58

Cover story

Get the picture

IS THE SHOP DEAD? Despite a tsunami of challenges, the death knell of the high street shop should not be sounded yet

TAKING OFF

60 Entrepreneurship & project funding

SIMPLICATION FOR STARTUPS

38 STATE OF THE (DISCRIMI)NATION How harmonious is Luxembourg’s melting pot?

88 61 MAKING YOUR CASE

62 42

20 Community spotlight

WARMTH AND JOY Rwandans Emmanuel Nshimiyimana and Nadine M. Umutoni on life in Luxembourg

22

48 MAKING AN IMPACT Corinne Molitor wants investors to act more responsibly

52

Snapshots

Alternative funds

COMMUNITY & NETWORKING

MANCOS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

INSPIRING A NEW GENERATION Delano catches up with three designers who have a passion for their craft

LAYING LEGAL GROUNDWORK

Reportage

GROUND CONTROL Construction on the “Earthship” in Redange gets rolling

Special feature

66 FAMILY AFFAIRS THRIVING

68 CREATING A BUZZ WITH INVESTORS

74

94 Kids page

GET KIDS INTO SCIENCE

95 Restaurant review

ELCH

98

Interview

Auntie Eleanor

CONTROL YOUR OWN WORLD

ORDER, ORDER! Our advice columnist might take some heat for this month’s answers

76 Interview

BOTTLE BY BOTTLE

Contents

THE JOURNAL

5

...and more Write to PO Box 728 L-2017 Luxembourg Offices 10 rue des Gaulois, Luxembourg-Bonnevoie ISSN 2220-5535 Web www.maisonmoderne.com Founder and chairman Mike Koedinger CEO Richard Karacian Administrative and financial director Etienne Velasti CONTENTS Phone (+352) 20 70 70-150 Fax (+352) 29 66 19 E-mail news@delano.lu Publisher Richard Karacian Editorial director Matthieu Croissandeau Editor-in-chief Duncan Roberts (duncan.roberts@maisonmoderne.com) Desk editor Aaron Grunwald (aaron.grunwald@maisonmoderne.com) Journalists Jess Bauldry (jessica.bauldry@maisonmoderne.com) Natalie Gerhardstein (natalie.gerhardstein@maisonmoderne.com) Contributor Stephen Evans Intern Lena Fix Photography Nader Ghavami, Jan Hanrion, Lala La Photo, Patricia Pitsch, Mike Zenari, Matic Zorman Proofreading Lisa Cacciatore, Sarah Lambolez, Manon Méral, Elena Sebastiani, Katie Steiness

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Lux takes to the skies

Tiago Ferreira

Delano marks the centenary of the grand duchy’s first international passenger flight in this online series.

Delano speaks with the Luxtram operator who was named Europe’s best tram driver this year.

↳ www.delano.lu/current-affairs

↳ www.delano.lu/careers

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Guy Christen

Feted fintech startup Revolut explains why it dropped plans for a Luxembourg e-banking hub, yet questions remain.

He hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in six months, raising more than €10,000 for a local children’s cancer charity.

↳ www.delano.lu/business

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Delano™ and Maison Moderne™ are trademarks used under licence by MM Publishing and Media S.A. © MM Publishing and Media S.A. (Luxembourg) NOTE TO OUR READERS Delano’s next print edition comes out 13 November.

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The Journal Reporting on the community

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Carolina Parisi, Global Dignity country chair for Luxembourg

Dignity in action

The next Global Dignity Day is on 16 October

but for Carolina Parisi, Luxembourg country chair of the movement, “dignity” is a concept that can be integrated in multiple facets of one’s life, practised year round.

The international Global Dignity movement centres around a few main principles, including the fact that every human has the right to lead a “dignified life” and fulfil his or her potential--no matter the gender, race, education, income and so on.

The Global Dignity movement has grown worldwide from reaching 30

youngsters in 2006 to 860,000 in 2018 in over 70 countries. It provides toolkits and teaching resources, all available through its website, to help participants delve deeper into the concept of dignity.

“Nowadays, people think dignity is difficult to define… and I think the idea of global dignity is to start with children, at primary and high schools, to help them with workshops, explore topics and try to fine-tune with them topics related to dignity in their daily lives.” Parisi gets support from the local Global Shapers

volunteers, part of a broader international community born out of the World Economic Forum. She and the volunteers train teachers and other leaders on how to use a dedicated script and other tools for dignity workshops.

Among the most difficult topics that come up during such sessions are bullying and differences in cultures and financial literacy. But dignity can also be as basic as students realising that by doing homework, they are fulfilling their responsibilities. →

9

Getting involved

↑ Sophia Jansen The 12-year-old hosted her 6th fundraising garden concert to support cultural activities for children in Afghanistan, on 14 September.

“One of the things that came up is a need for children to have a place to talk about [these issues] without judgement, and to share their dignity stories in front of other children,” Parisi says. She cites a memorable example. “At the time, many immigrants were coming to Luxembourg, we managed to have a refugee with us… the students asked to see where they come from, where they are, so that [they] could support them the best way [they] can.”

Time well spent

Although Parisi says the day is celebrated once a year, she hopes the concept will take off in every school in Luxembourg.

And she believes it wouldn’t take a huge commitment. “Two hours is okay, even if it’s on a Saturday.”

Similar dignity workshops can also be held at the workplace. Parisi says some companies are including global dignity, for example, on a monthly basis, with workshops on respect, justice and so on.

In her case, when she wants to volunteer outside of working hours, she takes a day off, although she would like to see even more companies supporting their employees “to give back through [their] time”.

But the concept of dignity goes beyond a particular environment. “I don’t want global dignity to be just one day,” Parisi says. “I would like it to be a process… it’s about doing the right thing, having the right values, and really nurturing those values and putting it into action.”

How to begin? “Start with yourself.

Ask: ‘Are you treating yourself with dignity?’

And from there, you can help others.” × Global Dignity Luxembourg @GlobalDLux ↳ www.globaldignity.org

words photo

Natalie A. Gerhardstein Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne

Renato Baptista and Enjie Ghorbel are part of a team developing a rehabilitation app

Stroke recovery from home One in six people will suffer a stroke in

their lifetime, leading to loss of motor control or worse, paralysis. Recovering mobility requires intensive rehabilitation, often in a specialised centre. But, what happens after the therapy finishes? A team at the University of Luxembourg is working on an interactive digital learning tool helping patients to continue recovery at home.

“We’re trying to develop an application for helping stroke survivors to exercise from home without the supervision of the therapist,” research associate

Enjie Ghorbel tells Delano. “Usually, when someone has a stroke, they are obliged to do rehabilitation to recover activity.

At the beginning, they do rehabilitation with a therapist in a centre. In a second stage, the therapist gives the patient exercises to do from home. The problem is that you cannot check if the patient did the exercises, if he’s motivated, doing them correctly or compensating, which is not good because it can lead to injury.”

The self-training application uses a screen and camera, which, along with the software, help track patient movements →

The Journal

“We can’t stop war, but we can share happiness and do something”

In numbers

Facts & figures about Luxembourg

98,470

60

↑

↑

LUXEMBOURG PENSIONERS

NATURE RESERVES

The average full monthly state pension

Luxembourg has set aside 8,116 hectares

is €3,863 gross, as of December 2018.

as natural conservation zones,

The average partial monthly pension is €1,245.

or 3% of the country’s total area.

5.4%

100,000

↑

↑

HOUSING INFLATION

.LU DOMAIN NAMES

Real estate prices increased

There was one website ending with “.lu”

by more than 5% each year between

for every six Luxembourg residents at

2011 and 2018.

the end of June 2019.

Sources → Romain Schneider, social security minister → Environment Ministry → Statec → Restena Foundation

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

as they work through physiotherapy ­exercises. “The patient sees themselves in a screen and sees a kind of skeleton over their body, on the screen,” the Tunisian national explains. Low-cost depth sensors in the camera monitor posture and movements, which the software corrects by highlighting the relevant body part in green, orange or red, based on the movement quality. “It’s all visual, so easily interpretable. And the good thing is that the data acquired is sent to the therapist, so he can check how much the patient exercises and if he did it correctly or not.”

The project itself is part of Starr, a programme of supporting collaborative research that supports self-management by stroke survivors to help reduce the chance of a second stroke from happening. Funded with €4.5m by the EU Horizon 2020 research programme, it is being developed by a consortium of research groups, stroke survivors, healthcare companies and hospitals, among others.

An international computer vision team at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), comprised of Ghorbel, Djamila Aouada, Abd El Rahman Shabayek and Renato Baptista, is working on the computer vision part of the application. It has already tested the prototype application on 20 people working at the SnT, as well as stroke patients at the Fondation Hopale, a recovery centre in France, and Osakidetza, the healthcare system in the Basque region of Spain. “The patients were very happy and described it as a very positive experience,” says Ghorbel. “When I saw the response of the patients, it was a very emotive moment.”

“The application can help clinicians to save time,” she says. “With the increase in the number of strokes worldwide because of our ageing population, we need to find solutions, because at a certain point, we won’t have enough qualified people.”

The four-year project will end in the coming months. Ghorbel and the team are now seeking funding to create a spin-off to bring the application to market.

If successful, the treatment could one day be made available to patients at the Rehazenter, a specialist rehabilitation centre in Luxembourg. ×

In context

Schueberfouer, 23 August

↳ www.uni.lu/snt

words

Jess Bauldry photo Mike Zenari

Attendees are seen on opening day of the annual fun fair.

Photo → Nader Ghavami

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The Journal

Mei Chen, founder of Manzoku, with a freshly produced batch of ramen

Japanese soul food

Mei Chan was exposed to ramen as a design student, when she got “into Japanese design and packaging”. Her love for it has grown ever since. The ramen craze has

already taken over big cities worldwide, even in Europe. In Dusseldorf, for example, there are long queues outside some ramen shops. “It was only a matter of time until it came across the borders to Luxembourg,” Chan says. And so, deciding it was time to bring this “soul food” to the grand duchy, Chan launched her brand, Manzoku.

She’s no stranger to the restaurant biz.

“I was a pretty typical British-born Chinese,” she says. “My parents had a takeaway restaurant.” An avid traveller, Chan worked in Hong Kong for three years and was further exposed to a variety of foods. She regularly cooks at home, but Japanese is a family favourite.

Ramen’s a great dish to try when travelling, Chan says. “It’s affordable, damn tasty, and accessible for a westerner.”

But it was a noodle-making course that really crystallised her appreciation

for ramen varieties. “It’s like in Italy, where you have different pasta and sauces in different regions.”

When I met with Chan in her Howaldbased Manzoku facility early summer, she was eager to show me the package prototype she had designed. She also walked me through the delicate art of ramen-making. To give her ramen a Luxembourg stamp, Chan has sourced flour from Moulins de Kleinbettingen.

The flour is mixed with salt and a special kansui (alkaline) solution--which, →

12

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Chan says, is the secret to the sophistication of Japanese noodles. “The kansui makes noodles firmer in the soup, so you’re able to enjoy the experience longer.”

She also specially fitted her facility with a soft water supply, which further helps the noodles keep shape.

After mixing, there are a variety of maturation processes. And then? “That’s where the magic happens.” The dough-breadcrumb-like in texture--is pushed through a machine and goes through combining, thinning, cutting. It’s still very much a hands-on process, but a machine imported from Japan helps do some of the work and “lets you create lovely, thin noodles”--something that was impossible for her to mimic by hand.

Chan has already been supplying ramen to a few local restaurants. This autumn, her three Luxembourg-made ramen varieties also hit the market at Pall Center.

Chan has also opened a pop-up shop at her Howald facility, next to Eirelux, where customers can buy not only ramen kits, but all the accoutrements--from deep bowls, chopsticks and spoons to Japanese beer.

Manzoku’s three varieties of ramen represent the north, west and central regions of Japan, respectively: there’s a thicker Sapporo noodle paired with a robust miso broth. The thinnest Hakata noodle is paired with a tonkotsu (pork-based) broth. The Tokyo noodle, yellow due to egg powder, is paired with a shoyu (soy-based) sauce.

The noodles need less than two minutes to cook, and the broth is prepared simply by mixing the sauce with hot water. “You can have a meal in two to three minutes,” Chan says.

For Chan, one of the beauties of a good bowl of ramen is how everyone can customise it by adding their own toppings: boiled eggs and mushrooms to chopped spring onions, even mere leftovers. For a slightly more “pimped up” version, Chan says you can use your own broth or make your own chashu pork.

Already before her shop opening, she asked colleagues and friends to sample the noodles and was surprised how many took to Instagram to share their creations.

“You use your imagination. We’ve just given you the blank canvas.” × manzokusoulfood manzoku_soulfood

words photo

Natalie A. Gerhardstein Mike Zenari

Cycling has become Romain Gerson’s main mode of transport

Not all cyclists wear Lycra As motorised vehicles clog up the capital’s roads, more and more people are opting

for two-wheeled transport. Romain Gerson took up cycling seven years ago when his employer withdrew his parking space.

In a pique, the Luxembourger announced he’d take up cycling and invested in an electric-assisted bicycle. “Very soon I loved it,” he said. When the parking space became available again, he declined.

Gerson deliberately cycles further than he needs to get from his home to the office in the Gare district. He does this because he says the road cycle path is not consistent and therefore not safe.

Instead, he pedals 12.5 kilometres along the Alzette, joining a main road then finishing with a short detour in the Grund and Pétrusse before arriving at work.

“I met a lot of nice people there,” he says.

“Maybe if we were driving in the car, we would sound the horn and shout […].

Here, I try to catch up or when they pass say ‘hello’.”

As well as meeting new people, Gerson values the journey time as a way to relax.

But it is not always zen. He recalled a run-in with a van driver who overtook, cut him off and passed too close. Gerson caught up at the traffic lights and confronted him. “Just before we spoke, I thought it was a bad idea,” he said.

The driver pulled into a car park and Gerson asked him to imagine if their roles had been reversed. “I convinced him.

In the end, it was good, and I hope he spreads the message.” The Luxembourger says on the whole he feels safe, but he would never let his daughter ride on the roads. →

14

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

“Some people are afraid of using a bike, especially people who haven’t cycled for a long time or aren’t used to cycling in these traffic conditions,” says Philippe Herkrath of the Lëtzebuerger Vëlos Initiativ, a group that advocates for cyclists.

“It’s one of the reasons it’s so important to develop infrastructure that’s safe and separate from traffic.” An August 2019 Statec report found that four cyclists were killed and 58 seriously injured on Luxembourg’s roads between 2016 and 2018. Herkrath says that without knowing the distances covered, it is hard to comment. But he suggests that the danger of cycling is often “exaggerated” and depends on a person’s confidence levels.

Dutch national Ina de Visser has been cycling since the age of 2. She commutes to work by bike, wearing suits and skirts-she saves the Lycra for her sports cycling.

“In the city, my commute is short and very safe,” she says, adding that the infrastructure could be improved. De Visser also drives but never uses the car in the capital because it is “too small”. Being a cyclist, she says, makes her a better driver.

“You drive differently if you know what cycling is like.” She does not believe that separate cycle paths are essential for cyclists to coexist with motorists.

But more awareness-raising could help to reduce collisions and confrontations.

De Visser says she hopes to “get some drivers on the bike every now and then, not always, just to experience what it’s like as a cyclist.”

And it is not just motorists who can learn a thing or two about sharing the road. De Visser says that while it is important for cyclists to claim their space on the road, to be safe, “if a car passes in my space, it doesn’t mean I have to behave like an arsehole!” ×

Linda Bos designed a stamp to mark 100 years of the Luxembourg Midwives Association

Stamp of approval for midwives Linda Bos is now something of an old hand at designing postage stamps.

words photo

Jess Bauldry Matic Zorman

Her latest was a new stamp to mark the 100th anniversary of the Luxembourg Midwives Association (Association Luxembourgeoise des Sages-Femmes).

“I was free to interpret the topic of birth, but it was clear it was about 100 years of midwifery,” the Dutch designer told Delano. “But birth, natural birth, is a really important topic to them because birth is quite medicalised in Luxembourg.”

The association, which started out in 1919 with just four midwives, today counts over 100 members--more than half of all active midwives in Luxembourg.

Bos put a lot of thought into the final design which appears not only on the stamp, released on 17 September, but will

also be made into 100 limited-edition art prints for the association’s centenary celebration. The design, which shows a woman at some stage of birth, is intentionally abstract. Her face is not visible, but she is surrounded by comforting hands, which, Bos says, could be those “of the partner, best friend or doula”.

Leaves of “lady’s mantle”, a medicinal plant used in midwifery, are visible in the upper corner, and Bos says she used “clear, big colour blocks, showing that it’s a really powerful event.”

She adds: “It would be nice if people have a positive feeling with the artwork… that people will feel they can find themselves in it somehow.”

Bos, who has lived in Luxembourg for 14 years, is a graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven. She is →

Fact file

Useful & random information about Luxembourg

The grand duchy’s population more than doubled since the end of the second world war, from 290,992 in 1947 to 613,894 on 1 January 2019.

Source: Statec

The name Luxembourg stems from “Lucilinburhuc”, Old High German for “little fortress”.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The highest point in Luxembourg is the Kneiff, a hill in Troisvierges commune (559.8m above sea level).

The lowest point is the confluence of Sauer and Moselle rivers, in Wasserbillig (129.9m). words photo

Natalie A. Gerhardstein Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne

15

Source: Land Registry and Topography Administration

The Journal

the co-founder of A Designers’ Collective and also a co-founder of the Lët’z Go Local initiative which promotes local design, products and services via regular markets.

Bos says she doesn’t believe home births are by definition better--in fact, she was happy to be at a maternité when she had her daughter, now 4. But she says: “it’s a real pity that midwives are second place in a way… in Luxembourg, the doctor is still kind of king.”

Bos says if she hadn’t been a mother herself, she might not have accepted the commission request to design the stamp.

“Even though every birth experience is different, after birth you know, but before, you can’t imagine.”

It isn’t the first time Bos has designed a stamp for Post Luxembourg. In 2012, she designed a set of “Europa” stamps which celebrated the cultural heritage of the grand duchy. In 2014, she came up with a special set of Christmas stamps-one featuring an owl and a mouse, the other a fox and bunny--tied to the theme of peace and hope for the holidays. And in 2017, she designed the “Multilaterale Hertogpost” special block, jointly issued

by Post Luxembourg and PostNL. Bos recalls that a special event is held for each first day of issue. The most memorable may have been for the Christmas stamp. “I thought it would be 20 or 30 minutes, but I was really overwhelmed there were so many people who buy cards with the first day’s stamp for their stamp collector friends in Switzerland or Dubai,” she says. “I didn’t really get they would be so enthusiastic to meet me and have me sign the stamp.”

Although not a collector herself, Bos has found it interesting interacting with the local philatelists. Of course, she also tries to buy about 10 sheets of her designs once they’re issued. “Funnily enough, Luxembourg is really small but, because it is small, stamps do not get printed in such big quantities, so there’s a collectors’ value,” she said, adding it’s the same reason why “in Liechtenstein now, there’s a booming stamp scene”. ×

Asset Management Wealth Management Asset Services

Pictet & Cie (Europe) SA 15 Avenue John F. Kennedy 1855 Luxembourg +352 46 71 71 1 group.pictet

Your ideas created your wealth.

Our ideas ensure you keep it.

In my suitcase

16

Expats share what they brought when they moved to Luxembourg Chinese

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Quickly developing ties words

photos

Tea kettle At first glance, this is a simple electric water boiler. But its range of settings is wider. Wang explains that in China, different temperature of water is used for different sorts of tea.

The kettle is helpful for Wang since “I like green tea; my wife prefers black tea”. →

Natalie A. Gerhardstein Mike Zenari

← Moutai This hard liquor is made from distilled, fermented sorghum and is used for special occasions, like the Chinese New Year.

“One bottle costs more than €300, but this stuff isn’t for everyday drinking,” says Wang.

Probably a good thing, given its alcohol content is 53%.

US Constitution When Wang started studying law in the US, he received a copy of the US Constitution which he later brought to Europe. “Nothing is more powerful than this little book.” ↓

YI WANG Yi Wang, senior associate at GSK Luxembourg, vividly remembers when he arrived in Luxembourg in February 2016. “It was snowing and very beautiful, the Luxembourg architecture with the snow.”

The executive director of the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux) also recalls how quiet it was--quite different from his hometown of Beijing, with its over 21m inhabitants.

Wang, who studied law in Germany and the US before arriving in the grand duchy, says he has noticed Chinese-Luxembourg relations develop “dramatically” since he arrived three years ago.

Whether it’s a Chinese expat arriving for work or a student learning overseas, he says “each individual [has] a role to build a bridge… there are certain things that are not correct inside China, but many things are also developing and marching [in] the right direction. You have to recognise both sides, help people around you have a better picture of what China [is].” ↳ www.china-lux.lu

17

Illustration → Jan Hanrion (Maison Moderne)

Yunnan Baiyao This spray is a household Chinese medicine which claims to promote blood flow and help treat injuries, pain and swelling. Although not all the ingredients are listed--the package reads “national secret formula”--Wang says it has been effective for minor injuries he’s had while playing football every week through a local Chinese league. ↓

→

WHAT I REGRET LEAVING BEHIND Alipay “Right now in China, not many people are still carrying wallets. People are using their cell phones to make payments all the time. Just scan and click. Super convenient.”

The Journal

Flag of China Although Wang says he only displays the flag on occasion, like during a football tournament, he carries it because he is proud to be Chinese.

“No matter what happened in the past 100 years, or even the last 30, the country developed quickly and provided my generation opportunities to go abroad, to learn what we want. That wasn’t the case for my parents’ generation.” ↓

↗ Chopsticks Wang brought this set of chopsticks from China.

Although he says his set isn’t made of any particularly special material, “you get used to one kind of chopsticks, you just bring it with you.”

Sheer Driving Pleasure

DRIVING PLEASURE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES. Environmental information: www.bmw.lu

1.4-8.8 L/100 KM • 31-197 G/KM CO2 (WLTP)

Bilia-Emond Luxembourg 184, Route de Thionville L-2610 Luxembourg Tél. +352 49 19 41-1 www.bilia-emond.bmw.lu

Muzzolini 6, rue Romain Fandel Zi Um Monkeler L-4149 Esch-sur-Alzette Tél. +352 57 26 26-1 www.muzzolini.bmw.lu

Schmitz s.à r.l.

21, Rue de la Gare L-7535 Mersch Tél. +352 32 91 11 www.schmitz.bmw.lu

Community Spotlight

20

Meet the people who add zest to life in Luxembourg

Rwandans

Warmth and joy SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

L

ike Luxembourg, Rwanda is one of the smallest countries of its continent.

However, it compensates for its size with the huge generosity and positivity of its people. Meet two of the Rwandans who give their time to help others in Luxembourg.

Emmanuel Nshimiyimana was born in Rwanda before moving to Belgium at the age of 10. After finishing his studies in Brussels, and an internship in the Democratic Republic of Congo on an agricultural development project, Nshimiyimana accepted a job in finance in Luxembourg to be closer to his family.

But adapting wasn’t easy at first. “Coming here was very challenging on a personal level,” said Nshimiyimana. “When you come from other cities where there is a lot of noise you can escape yourself

in a way. Here you can’t. Here, the city pushes you to listen to yourself, to take time for yourself and I did not know how to do that before.”

Thanks to his love of dancing, ­Nshimiyimana started discovering the beauty of the country he refers to as “a hidden paradise”, instead of doing regular trips back to Brussels. “When I discovered Latin dances and met new people I was like: ‘OK, interesting!’ So, I began to stay on weekends, which changed my perspective about Luxembourg. I started to see the city and also myself differently.”

This self-discovery process has not only pushed Nshimiyimana to change career path, but also to take inspiration from his own personal experience to help others. “I created a company for personal development, meditation workshops →

↑

EMMANUEL NSHIMIYIMANA Uses his own experience to help others through workshops on the subject: “Becoming the best version of yourself” Emmanuel N. Imana

←

NADINE M. UMUTONI Volunteers with the Red Cross since moving to Luxembourg

Croix-Rouge International Section Volunteers

beautiful and amazing way and what has been done during the past 25 years is just mind-blowing. If people went to discover the culture of Rwanda, they would see such a beautiful country and people, and they would get a new image of Africa.”

Rwandan-born Nadine M. Umutoni has now lived in Luxembourg for 17 years.

Before coming here, her life was already centred around charity work. Since the age of 15, she had been involved in welfare activities. When Umutoni first arrived in Luxembourg, it was essential for her to find a way to help others in need.

She rapidly joined the international section of the Red Cross. “I would volunteer on humanitarian activities where I get to give back to people, because I feel that, in life, we need to give back. I feel fortunate to be where I am so whenever I can help by giving back some of my free time,

WHERE TO MEET RWANDANS HONORARY RWANDAN CONSULATE

12 boulevard d’Avranches,

8 boulevard Royal, Centre Vermont,

26 19 05 86

Photos → Stephanie Braconnier/Shutterstock

LA MÉTISSE Congolese restaurant 265 rue de Neudorf, Luxembourg-Neudorf

L a Métisse

LE BAOBAB Senegalese restaurant 23 rue Joseph Junck, Luxembourg-Centre

R estaurant Africain le Baobab

photos

Lena Fix Mike Zenari

SHOWCASE

WORLD CAFÉ Beninese/Togolese bar Luxembourg-Centre

words

Luxembourg-Centre lmoreschi@lmcg.lu

FEMMES DÉVELOPPEMENT GALA DINNER Charity dinner in aid of projects and microfinance support 17 October Casino 2000, Mondorf-les-Bains 26 19 05 86 ↳ www.femmesdeveloppement.org

Kigali is the capital of the “land of a thousand hills” and has been called low key yet dynamic and progressive.

Nshimiyimana praises the impeccable cleanliness of the city, partly due to Rwanda’s ban on plastic bags. ↳ www.visitrwanda.com

21

The Journal

and events based on ‘Becoming the best version of yourself’”. Nshimiyimana also devotes his time to independent charity initiatives, like when he and his friends help homeless people during Christmas time.

Nshimiyimana credits his kindness and positivity to the mindset of the Rwandan people. “In Rwanda, people have so much warmth, so much joy, they do not complain. We accept our fate, or we take action to change it if we don’t. This is what I miss about Rwanda… and also the weather!” he explains with a smile.

Grateful about how Luxembourg has changed him, Nshimiyimana plans to use the knowledge he has accumulated in Europe and someday go back to live in Rwanda to ‘do his part’ for his country of origin. He wishes, however, that others knew more about Rwanda: “Looking now at how Rwanda is growing in such a

share ideas, raise awareness and funds, I definitely do so.”

In an effort to better integrate herself in the grand duchy, Umutoni has now obtained Luxembourg nationality and has added Luxembourgish to the list of five other languages she can speak.

“Ech schwätzen net sou gutt awer ech probéieren” (I do not speak so well, but I try), Umutoni says.

Beyond the language and nationality, Umutoni is first and foremost very proud of the country she now calls home. She describes Luxembourg as clean, safe, beautiful, and an example of what Europe should be. “It’s a small country, yet we have everything we need, from my perspective.

Globally speaking, you don’t feel like a foreigner in this country, even when you c ome from elsewhere. Luxembourgish people are easy-going, and so peaceful. I never saw any form of nationalism here, unlike other countries that say they do not want foreigners. On the contrary, I see more and more welcoming of other communities. Especially when you look at Brexit or at Trump and his wall for Mexicans, it all boils down to immigration, whereas here immigrants, regardless of their origins, contribute to Luxembourg’s growing economy. Thank you, Luxembourg!” ×

Snapshots

22

Highlights from the international community and networking events

Asteroid Day

1

3

Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart was keynote speaker at the SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

conference’s gala dinner, 29 June. ↳ www.asteroidday.org

2

photos 4

Matic Zorman Wei Sun and Gongling Sun Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu and Crina Prunariu 3 Xavier Thillen (2nd left), Grigorij Richters (2nd right), Magdalena Raluy (right) 4 Rusty Schweickart speaking at the Cercle Cité 5 Georges Schmit 6 Ed Lu, Danica Remy and Rusty Schweickart 1

2

5

6

Find more events Check Delano’s digital agenda for the latest happenings: ↳ www.delano.lu/agenda

1 Aniela Bettel and Inna Ganschow 2 Yury, Olga, Timofei and Anna Radishevskaia 3 Students perform 4 Nadejda, Svetlana and Marina Nickels

1

2

Kalinka fête Luxembourg’s Russian school ended the academic year in festive style with a performance 29 June. ↳ www.kalinka.lu

3

photos 4

2

4

Expats and Paperjam Club members tested cognac and more, 3 July. ↳ www.delano.lu

photos 1

3

Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne 1 Charles Pozzo Di Borgo, Yannick Lang, Tatiana Lang and Magali Coyard 2 Denise Espaillat Duran, Michèle Dhur and Lou Weiler 3 Anjelika Colucci and Larissa Molyakova 4 Robert Gaylord pours a sample at Vinothèque le Chai in Hesperange

Matic Zorman

The Journal

of “Aladdin” and fashion show,

Delano Networking Circle

23

24

Aldrin touches down

2

1 Nicki Crush and Pierre Gramegna 2 German ambassador Heinrich Kreft and US ambassador Randy Evans 3 John Parkhouse (on left) 4 Buzz Aldrin speaks at the Philharmonie

3

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the star attraction at the US embassy’s Independence Day reception, 3 July. ↳ lu.usembassy.gov

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

4

photos

Nader Ghavami

1

1

White summer party

2

Rugby Club Luxembourg closed its 46th season with a fundraising BBQ, 13 July. ↳ www.rcl.lu

photos 3

Remy, Guillaume and LP 2 Carole, Clemmie, Josianne and Sofia 3 Nick, Liz, Gale, Nikki, Mark and Chris 4 RCL’s Paolo Tarakdjian speaks at the Rooftop Chalet & Beach Bar in Dommeldange 1

4

Lala La Photo

Dutch summer school

Retirement reception

Dutch-speaking youngsters

as managing director, 9 July.

brushed up on their language

↳ www.lpea.lu

The Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association marked the retirement of Paul Junck

The Journal

skills while making new friends, 19-23 August. ↳ www.ntc.lu 1

photos

Lala La Photo 2

Handicrafts, board games, singing, dancing and sports were among the activities for children up to 12 to boost their language levels

3

1 Michel Wurth (left) and Nicolas Mackel (right) 2 LPEA’s Hans Jürgen Schmitz and Paul Junck are seen at the Golf Club Grand Ducal 3 Stéphanie Castryck and Steve Idrissou

photos

Paperjam Open 36 teams participated in the Paperjam Club’s inaugural golf tournament, 11 July. ↳ club.paperjam.lu

photos

Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne

1

1 Genevieve Chabo and Norma Bello Cortes 2 The tournament was held at Kikuoka Country Club

25

2

LPEA

26

1 The fair was held on the ISL campus 2 Shameless self-promotion 3 Charity bake sale 4 American Women’s Club of Luxembourg stand

1

4

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

2

Welcome Back Festival The International School of

3

Luxembourg hosted its annual fair for families freshly arrived in the grand duchy, 7 September. ↳ www.islux.lu

photos

Lala La Photo

1

2

Wine fest The 70th edition of Grevenmacher’s grape and wine festival finished with a parade, 8 September. ↳ www.cfg.events 1 3 4 The parade celebrated local culture 2 2019 wine queen Jessica Bastian with princesses Loredana Belli, Lee Risch, Zoé Schoeben and Anne-Catherine Schiltz

photos

Lala La Photo

3

4

1

2

Bond soirée

27

Secret agents, villains and ladies of mystery attended a reception for the British and Irish Film ↳ www.gov.uk

3

photos

Pierre Gramegna and Sylvie Gramegna 2 Christian Barkei 3 Jane-Anne Frankel with Roger Moore 4 UK ambassador John Marshall and Sher Houston 5 Guy Hoffmann (right) arriving at the British ambassador’s residence 6 Shaken, not stirred, we presume 7 Daniel Eischen and Carole Miltgen 1

6

4

5

7

Lala La Photo

The Journal

Festival Luxembourg, 5 September.

28

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Is the shop. ..

The announced closure of two long-standing city centre stores, Tapis Hertz and Sports House Keller, sparked another debate about the viability of high street retail outlets in the face of online competition, rising rental prices, changing shopping habits and the mushrooming of malls in the grand duchy.

But the death knell of the high street shop should not be sounded yet. words 

Duncan Roberts Mike Zenari

photos 

Cover story

...

29

30

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

T

here is not any single reason for the failure of shops in Luxembourg city centre, says Fernand Ernster, proprietor of the bookshop chain that bears his family name and president of the Confédération Luxembourgeoise du Commerce, where he also sits on the retail commission. “Difficult accessibility limits the number of people who come shopping.

Parking in the city is expensive and not always easy to find,” he tells Delano. “And the mix of types of shops in the city is not what it was.” Nathalie Aach of Tapis Hertz cited changing consumer habits, internet sales and a lack of parking for clients for her decision to vacate the family business’s flagship store on the Grand-Rue in November after 73 years in the prime location.

“The multi-brand retail business model, except for perhaps concept stores, is becoming obsolete in the city centre,” said Aach in a statement in July.

Importantly, Aach stressed that rental prices were not a main factor in the decision. But that is a different story for many other retailers. “Rental prices are still high, I’ve heard,” says Ernster, who is fortunate that he owns the building in which the books chain’s flagship store is located.

As our chart on page 34 shows, retail rents in the city centre are the highest in the country, although pressure is on to lower prices as dozens of shops stand vacant. But in July, Reporter.lu cited Claude Bizjak of the CLC saying that many owners are quite content to just sit on their vacant property rather than

reduce their asking price. Meanwhile, minister for small- and medium-sized business Lex Delles has said, in response to parliamentary question from LSAP MP Dan Biancalana about the rental problem, that he “didn’t think it is the responsibility of communes to buy up empty commercial properties with a view to renting them out at advantageous prices”.

Difficult access

The construction of the tram, the Royal-Hamilius centre and continuing work along the rue de la Boucherie and on the place ­Guillaume II have limited accessibility to many shops. Benoît Schmit told Delano that uncertainty about when and how long the tram works would take place played a major role in his decision to close down his Léif furnishings and lifestyle store (previously Ben & Pepper) last year. “We felt it was commercial suicide to continue. It wasn’t like we had reserves for five years, so we decided to call it a day.” Compensation that was eventually offered to store owners along the affected route was minimal and required complex application forms that would have meant paying substantial fees to accountants, Schmit claims. And things aren’t going to improve in the near future. Back in April, Lydie Polfer told Luxembourg RTL radio that 2020 is going to be the worst for construction disruption in the city.

Fernand Ernster says that another challenge faced by retailers is that fewer and fewer people actually work in the city centre.

He cites the case of Commerzbank and Dresdner Bank, whose main offices near the Ernster store at one stage employed some 350 people. “Every day, at least one of those people would buy a book or a pen or a notebook. Several ministries have also moved, and the National Library is also about to relocate to

31

Changing habits

Hans Fellner, too, reckons that people who work in the city are spending less time strolling the streets and browsing, be it at lunchtime or after work. An increase in flexible working hours also means people are taking shorter lunch breaks so they can leave work in time to beat the traffic heading out of the city. But he believes that the expat community is key to surviving as a retailer.

“They have reinvented strolling in the city” and account for a large proportion of passing custom, says the owner of the Fellner Louvigny bookstore and art gallery. “What I love is that the average age [of customers] is 40, and for a bookstore that is very low.”

As for the prestigious Royal-Hamilius project due to open this autumn, Fellner says that in London or Paris or Cologne, inner city malls are now what he calls “lost spaces” that have become “visual slums”. He says it might work, but he can’t imagine that it will bring additional people into the city. Malls in general take part of the cake, Fellner reckons, but he is not sure people will go out of their way to the new Cloche d’Or centre.

“We feel bad shopping in these fake bling-bling places.”

But Fernand Ernster says that opening a store in the Cloche d’Or centre was essential for Ernster, which also has outlets in the Belle Étoile and City Concorde malls and a smaller shopping centre in Bascharage. The company hired 12 extra staff to work in the Cloche d’Or. “A large number of passing customers provide bookstores with a better chance of success,” says Ernster.

Big events like the Christmas market and the ING Marathon may bring additional people into the city, but they rarely take time

to walk around and enter shops like Fellner Louvigny. “I think we need to rethink this idea of giving away the city as an event location,” says Fellner. “I think I am not alone in liking to be in a city with a more regular, slow walking rhythm. Events like that disrupt the rhythm.”

E-commerce challenge

Ernster was among the first retailers to launch an online service, back in 1997 with a programme that Fernand Ernster commissioned himself. “We really believed in the internet back then,” he says. Indeed, in 1996, together with a friend, he wrote to ­Amazon founder Jeff Bezos telling him that if he ever decided to bring his business to Europe, Luxembourg would be a good place to set up.

“I never received an answer,” Ernster says with a smile. “I liked his model. Amazon did not ruin the book market, on the contrary, it made books popular again.” What is true, however, says Ernster, is that Amazon grew so quickly that it really did change shopping habits.

Nowadays, Ernster’s online business, including a popular click and collect service, accounts for “maybe 5% of our ­business if I count B2C and B2B together”. A separate central logistics centre in Strassen handles the online orders and manages stock to avoid cutting into the already slim margins of the traditional retail sales.

But not all retailers have the resources to manage an online store. Taking professional photos, managing stock, arranging delivery, all take away precious time and even floor space. “It is bad enough organising social media. Going online is not going to save little shops. That’s too easy,” says Benoît Schmit. Hans Fellner’s business model is so far removed from e-commerce →

Cover story

Kirchberg.” But lunchtime is still a busy peak period for the store, he says.

32

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

that he even handpicks his stock by visiting wholesalers and uses even social media sparingly.

Over at the City Concorde mall, Viktor Ronkin, head of e-commerce at Bram and its German mother company Konen, says that online presence is much less a sales channel than an information channel. “Customers are starting the shopping experience much earlier, by getting informed before actually making a purchase. So, we have to be present at various ‘touch points’, whether that is social media, newsletters or our own website.”

Bram’s newly launched online store not only has a delivery service but, like Ernster, allows for click and collect service. “People in Luxembourg, especially the generation that didn’t grow up digitally, still want personal service,” says branch manager René Weise. “So, our e-commerce channels complement the whole shopping experience, allowing them the best of both worlds,” says Ronkin. Indeed, while Bram is seeking to reach younger customers through its social media channels, Ronkin says that the over 60s, while not particularly on ­Instagram, are also au fait with electronic newsletters and Google ads. Newsletters are personalised to target different customer groups, and to highlight different brands, using algorithms. But despite his enthusiasm for e-commerce, Ronkin says that predictions of online shopping replacing physical stores are wide of the mark.

“Shopping will never be an online-only experience,” he says. ×

“ The mix of types of shops in the city is not what it was.” ↑ Fernand Ernster Ernster

33

Cover story

“ We need to rethink this idea of giving away the city as an event location.” ↑ Hans Fellner Fellner Louvigny

“ Shopping will never be an online-only experience.” ↑ Viktor Ronkin Bram

34

Help wanted

The number of retail sales force jobs advertised with Adem, Luxembourg’s employment agency, rose slightly between 2014 and 2018, but has flattened in recent months.

200

150

Decline in retail sector employment

Vacant positions at end of month

Retailers employed roughly 6.2% of Luxembourg’s workforce in 2017, compared to 6.7% in 2010-2013, 7.5% in 2000 and 8.4% in 1995. Figures for 2018 were not available at press time.

Source → Adem

Retail jobs

100

50

All jobs

500,000 New job postings

0

31 May 2014

400,000

300,000

31 May 2019

Searching for retail work

Source → Statec

200,000

100,000

0 1995

2000

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

The number of people looking for retail jobs “usually fluctuates between 200 and 300” at any given time, Jean Ries, Adem’s chief statistician, told Delano. The proportion has been “fairly stable over time”.

3,500

Total number of jobseekers

3,000

2017

2,500

Prime retail rents

€/m2/month LUXEMBOURG CITY

€119 Belle Étoile shopping centre

€100

BERTRANGE

€180 I

€215

Grand-Rue, Luxembourg City

€85-€100

€21-€23 Standalone unit, exterior location, Luxembourg City

Auchan Kirchberg shopping centre

€105

Avenue de la Gare, Luxembourg City

Cloche d’Or shopping centre

€38

ESCH-ALZETTE

€30 Rue de l’Alzette

Shopping centre, exterior location

€21

Retail park

2,000

1,500

Source → Adem

1,000 People looking for a job in retail 500 0 31 January 2017

31 May 2019

Total labour cost per hour

How much retailers* paid for each hour worked, including salary, benefits, social insurance contributions and training, in 2016. Luxembourg remains competitive in the Greater Region.

BELGIUM LUXEMBOURG FRANCE

Source → Statec

Monthly lease payments vary widely, with prestigious city centre spaces costing 10 times more than for an out-of-town retail park or standalone shop. A well placed shopping centre charges three times more than those located on the periphery. Figures from three of Luxembourg’s largest commercial property brokerages: CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield and Inowai.

Source → CBRE, “Retail in Luxembourg”, 1Q2019 → Cushman & Wakefield, “European Retail Parks”, Summer 2019 → Cushman & Wakefield, “Retail Market Snapshot”, 1Q2019 → Inowai, “Retail Market Report Luxembourg 2018” Research → Aaron Grunwald

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Retail in figures

GERMANY EU28 0

5

10

15

20

*Employers with 10 or more staff

25

30

35

40

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36

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

“ Everyone with a credit card is buying online” The emergence of online shopping is considered a major challenge for bricks and mortar shops globally. words

photos

Jess Bauldry Mike Zenari

←

E-shopping

Online shopping is not the enemy, Jerry Klein tells retailers in Luxembourg

37

he trend developed hand-in-hand with the rise of the internet, with the first e-commerce transactions taking place in 1994 (Amazon launched in 1995).

Today, the reflex of searching for an item online is firmly engrained in consumer habits with six in every ten EU residents buying online, according to 2018 Eurostat figures. In Luxembourg, the proportion is even higher with seven out of ten having bought online during the previous 12 months. “Everyone with a credit card in Luxembourg is buying online, that’s the reality,” says Jerry Klein, manager of ­online shopping platform Letzshop.

$5,000bn

$4,000bn

$3,000bn

Source → eMarketer/Statista

$2,000bn

$1,000bn

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

$0

Deliveries to Luxembourg

If the exact number of purchases made online within Luxembourg is not known, analysts have a rough idea. 2017 postal figures show that some 6.67 million parcels weighing 3.1 kilos or over were sent from abroad to Luxembourg addresses, up 10.9% on the previous year. “I expect it to be much higher than this,” says Klein.

“Imagine everything below 3.1 kilos: books, CDs, DVDs, mobile phones. Every time you order a pair of shoes, they don’t weigh 3.1 kilos.”

Not all of these parcels will necessarily be online purchases, but the conclusion is clear--online shopping will continue to grow. And, if bricks and mortar retailers want a piece of this customer base, they need to get online. Yet only 7% of the ­retailers in Luxembourg are there.

Enter Letzshop

↑ AT THE HELM Jerry Klein is a Luxembourg national who studied customer relationship management at the University Robert Schuman in Strasbourg. He previously worked as a customer relationship management expert for e-commerce giant Amazon for three years. From 2015-2018, he was a senior consultant in customer service management for MindForest Group. He joined the Letzshop initiative in March 2018 where he leads a team of three.

Launched in September 2018, Letzshop supports domestic retailers through the process of starting and continuing an online store. For €500 per year, they get professional photos, training, initial access to shipping through Michel Greco and a platform that handles the sales side of things and reminds them when they need to ship items. Almost a year after its launch, some 220 out of the estimated 3,500 shops in the grand duchy had joined Letzshop. Not all have made sales but, as Klein says, it took Amazon 25 years to get to where it is now. “These 25 years of the marketplace explain why people need to be patient.

It’s not because Letzshop is here for nine months that people will abandon their habits of going online abroad,” he says.

To convince local residents to buy ­locally, online, Klein has three compelling arguments: firstly, “local commerce

is an important recruiter for Luxembourg”. Secondly, there is a vast choice of products already in Luxembourg, it simply needs to be gathered in a place where consumers can find it. Lastly, he asks people to consider what if something goes wrong with the item they ordered.

Returning something like a bicycle to a physical shop is far easier than posting it back to China.

Choice

What is clear is that for the platform to work, retailers need to offer consumers choice, but this takes time. Some Letzshop members, such as bookstore chain Ernster, have automated the process and its database is imported into Letzshop every 2-3 hours. Books sell well on the platform.

Indeed, the first product sold was a book.

This is largely thought to be because of the choice offered. For smaller shops, updating product listings is more labour intensive, although they can upload en masse via spreadsheets. Traditional retailers must make time for this and other things, Klein says. “It’s not enough to be online somewhere and that’s it. It needs a little more engagement than that.”

Developing an online marketing strategy should also be top of the list of priorities along with allocating a budget for it. “We encourage sellers to go and find a web agency to support them in their new marketing strategies,” says Klein. The platform also provides tips and advice on other areas that can be improved, such as ensuring websites are “mobile-friendly” ­under Google’s standards and how to claim one’s “Google My Business”.

Challenges

There remain several challenges. For one, not all shops are permitted by law to sell online. For instance, Luxembourg’s legislation prevents pharmacies from selling even non-prescription products like cosmetics online. And there is always the thorny question of shipping fees. “[International] figures show that roughly half of the buying intentions are aborted when the client notices he has to pay for delivery,” says Klein. In Luxembourg, it will be difficult for smaller shops to absorb those costs without it eating up their margins.

“We have to find a compromise. That’s one part of the learning curve to this new e-commerce tool which, to 99% of sellers, is completely new.” ×

Cover story

T

Retail e-commerce sales worldwide from 2014 to 2021 (in billion US dollars)

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

State of the (discrimi) nation essay

Social harmony

In Luxembourg, foreigners make up half of the population and three quarters(1) of the workforce. Politicians love talking about the success of this melting pot of cultures. But, is it really so harmonious? words

Jess Bauldry

photo

Matic Zorman

← Nathalie Morgenthaler says that people need to take the first step to create a jurisprudence

June 2019 article on RTL offered insights into the letting practices of some landlords in the country.

Two real estate professionals described how landlords had turned down Indian home-seekers earning a good salary because they ­allegedly feared that as tenants they would cook curry inside the property.

This level of discrimination is perhaps the tip of the iceberg. But it is hard to say how far the problem extends because so much goes unreported.

Since 2008, the main body responsible for handling discrimination complaints and raising awareness has been the Centre pour l’Égalité de Traitement (CET). Last year, its two full-time staff members handled 21 cases(2) of alleged discrimination related to ethnic origin in Luxembourg. Nine were voluntarily withdrawn(2). “Since the start, we have to say we are not very well known,” CET director Nathalie Morgenthaler says, adding that this means it is hard to know how closely these figures mirror society. Anecdotally, when the CET was present at the migration festival in March, Morgenthaler said the feedback was mostly positive.

“People came to us and didn’t report much discrimination. On the contrary, they say it’s better here than abroad.”

Following the June news story, I reached out to ­ Indian community members to hear their experiences in relation to landlords. One said that they had only experienced such discrimination in France.

Another person, who wished to remain anonymous, is taking her former landlord to court for withholding their deposit for supposedly necessary cleaning and repainting a flat they rented for four years.

When the tenant complained, “he said he hated Indians. I was in a depression for a month,” she told Delano.

Surveys suggest discrimination is fairly widespread in Luxembourg. The last CET survey, commissioned in 2015 (3), found that a third of people polled had been discriminated against based on their nationality and 38% on ethnicity.

And 45% of respondents said discrimina-

39

Social harmony

A

tion in relation to ethnicity had increased a lot over the past 5-10 years. Meanwhile, over a quarter had witnessed a discriminatory incident over the past three years.

The scope of the law governing the CET’s activities does not enable them to ­focus on cases of discrimination based on ­nationality--only on race and ethnicity.

And the CET’s limited resources mean they have no new data. But what is telling is that respondents were less likely to lodge a complaint about discrimination in 2014 than they were in 2009.

Withdrawing complaints

“To move the case forward, they have to go into detail and give evidence,” says Morgenthaler, adding that a fifth of those who do report cases will then withdraw, a rate which is similar in other European countries. In some instances, she says that complainants simply wish to move on with their lives. Some will have changed jobs, others lack evidence. “In one case that went to court, it was one person’s word against another,” she says.

Interestingly, a lack of funds to fight does not necessarily mean a case is abandoned in Luxembourg. If the case is concrete, the complainant can receive legal support from a union, non-profit organisation or, if referred to the prosecutor’s office via CET, they will be assigned a lawyer. But few have the endurance to make it this far.

“It’s important that someone takes the first step to create a jurisprudence. Like with Facebook. We’ve had the first cases of hate crime on Facebook. But, if people do nothing, we don’t get anywhere,” says Morgenthaler.

Like all European countries, Luxembourg is monitored by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), whose last report(4) described a “latent xenophobia” in the populist press and on the internet. It fingered some media for enabling the spread of hateful remarks from the public, aimed at refugees, Muslims and foreigners in general, through poorly moderated comments platforms. The report came a year after the 2015 national referendum asking, among other things, whether foreigners resident for five or more years should be allowed to vote in national elections.

Morgenthaler says that such debates tend to stir up tensions. But events abroad can also have an influence. “During the days after the January 2015 attacks in Paris (Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher), two cases of Muslim pupils being verbally attacked by teachers in Luxembourg with words like ‘are you satisfied now?’ or ‘when you’re grown up, will you →

HAS SOMEONE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST YOU? The law of 28 November 2006 on equal treatment prohibits discrimination based on religion or beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation, membership or non-membership, actual or supposed, of a race or ethnic group.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

do the same?’ were reported,” the ECRI report author wrote. It added that women wearing the Muslim head scarf reported being insulted and spat on in the street.

The situation became so serious that at the start of 2018, a group of researchers founded the Islamophobia Observatory at the Institut de Recherche, d’Éducation et de Dialogue Interculturel to collect information on Islamophobic incidents in Luxembourg. After calls from the ECRI, Luxembourg police and judicial authorities now record and monitor such incidents and publish the data. In 2018, police received 43 criminal complaints regarding incidents of racism, revisionism or other forms of discrimination(5). From January to July, they received five. The ECRI also raised the issue of police and media disclosing the ethnic origin of suspects in reports. CET has since tried to organise awareness training with journalists.

Knowing one’s rights

Morgenthaler suggests that the small number of discriminatory incidents recorded related to nationality could reflect a lack of awareness among people of their rights, because it gets little media expo-

sure. Gender rights, on the other hand, received greater exposure through the #MeToo movement. In recent years, more gender discrimination incidents were reported than those based on ethnic origin.

One of the solutions proposed by the ECRI brings the debate back around to housing.

In recommendation 81, it calls for the development of social housing for workers in low-paid sectors of the job market. It implies that much of the anti-migrant rhetoric that circulates derives from social exclusion experienced by low-paid Luxembourg nationals in a country where the cost of housing is high.

“This will contribute not only to the integration of workers with migration backgrounds, but also benefit low-wage workers with Luxembourg nationality.” ×

WHO CAN I TURN TO? CENTRE FOR EQUAL TREATMENT (CENTRE POUR L’ÉGALITÉ DE TRAITEMENT) Promotes and monitors equal treatment in Luxembourg. ↳ www.cet.lu

CHAMBER OF EMPLOYEES National group that informs people about rights and possible actions in the case of discrimination in the workplace. ↳ www.csl.lu

DIVERSITY CHARTER LUXEMBOURG A charter encouraging Luxembourg companies to favour diversity through concrete actions. ↳ www.chartediversite.lu

1 Statec, “Évolution de la situation des emplois salariés au Luxembourg entre 1994 et 2018” 2 Centre pour l’Égalité de Traitement, “Rapport d’activité 2018” 3 TNS Ilres, “Observatoire des discriminations 2015”, CET survey, July 2015 4 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance’s fifth report, published on 28 February 2017 5 Data provided by the Police Grand-Ducale

EU AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS EU centre of expertise to protect the fundamental rights of people living in EU member states. ↳ fra.europa.eu

EUROPEAN EQUALITY LAW NETWORK European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination. ↳ www.equalitylaw.eu

Perceived discrimination

The proportion of people who cited examples of “situations where people were not treated in the same manner, without reason” declined between 2009 and 2014, although authoritative figures have not been published since then.

ISLAMOPHOBIA OBSERVATORY Research and education body created by the Institut de Recherche, d’Éducation et de Dialogue Interculturel. ↳ www.iredi.lu

LUXEMBOURG RECEPTION AND INTEGRATION AGENCY Supports integration of foreign nationals in Luxembourg.

40 %

35 %

↳ olai.public.lu

30 %

25 %

Nationality

NATIONAL REFERENCE CENTRE FOR THE PROMOTION OF AFFECTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH Promotes sexual health through information, awareness-raising and training. ↳ www.cesas.lu

20 %

Ethnic origin

15 %

Gender In workplace, all themes

10 %

Social status Favouritism Linguistic Religious Phyiscal appearance / Disability Sexual orientation Age Commuters towards Luxembourgers Towards Luxembourgers Political orientation

5 %

0 % 2009

2011

2014

Source → Statec

40

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42

reportage

Earthship

Ground control SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ↑ The Cell Äerdschëff is constructed partly of old tyres, filled with pounded earth and layered like bricks. It’s backbreaking work for the volunteers, who say the team spirit keeps them motivated

words

Jess Bauldry

photos

Lala La Photo

43

Earthship

Living well and living sustainably are not mutually exclusive as the Centre for Ecological Learning in Luxembourg hopes to demonstrate with its construction showcase, the Äerdschëff.

During the summer, scores of European and local volunteers spent up to four weeks in Redange-sur-Attert in the west of Luxembourg to begin building the back wall of the ecological learning centre. But the bricks they used were not the kind you’d find on an average building site. Drawing closely on the same principles of the Earthships pioneered by Michael Reynolds, Cell’s Äerdschëff is built with repurposed and sustainable materials like old tyres, pounded with earth. Funded with public money, the Cell Äerdschëff is expected to open to the public in 2020.

It will house two Cell volunteers.

44

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ← “Someone said this expression: ‘happy tired’.

I think that’s the motto of our project,” Bulgarian Yordanka Dimcheva says while preparing breakfast.

“Everyone is happy because of the team but at the same time, tired because of the work”

↑ The 20 or so international volunteers, who sleep on site, gather for breakfast.

When we visit, on 14 August, they are more tired than usual because the night before, they hosted a leaving party for Mattias Schweitzer, an Italian who has volunteered with Cell for the past year

45

Earthship

→ On-duty volunteers clear up in the makeshift kitchen outside of the boarding school at Atert Lycée where they are sleeping.

They are careful not to waste water

46

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ↑ Halfway into the project, and the team has constructed seven out of 12 rows of tyres for the wall. Earthship expert Rob Hirsch explains how to line up the last row. They are against the clock to finish before the volunteers leave on 24 August

47

Earthship

↑ ↑ Hirsch carries tyres up to the wall in preparation for the volunteers to pound earth into them ↑ The pounding begins. To get the earth into the tyre rims requires a lot of elbow grease

↑ ↑ Before filling the tyre with earth, Hirsch places a piece of cardboard inside ↑ Hirsch shows the volunteers how to place a “squishy”, a term for a tyre used to fill gaps that occur in the tyre wall

48

Corinne Molitor, a partner at the consultancy Innpact, talks about how Luxembourg can play a bigger role in driving global environmental and social change through its investment industry.

How did the bank meet these challenges?

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Making an impact interview

words

C

orinne Molitor of Innpact says it’s a “myth” that impact investments yield lower returns. That’s one reason she wants financial firms to provide more training and for investors to ask more questions.

Molitor spoke with Delano about changing Luxembourg’s financial sector in August.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Do you think that Luxembourg is punching above its weight in terms of impact investing or do the funds domiciled here need to do more? aaron grunwald

molitor We are often preaching to those that are already convinced. So within this circle of impact actors, I think a lot is done. If you talk at the level of [the Association of the Luxembourg Fund corinne

Aaron Grunwald

Finance

photos

Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne

Industry] or bigger organisations, then it’s still a niche and we still have to really raise awareness, educate people and then incorporate this expertise in our everyday business. And so I think we do need to do a lot more.

If people are not aware of what’s at stake and what Luxembourg can do as an international hub for finance, they are not going to move. And then we have to transmit and to build the necessary expertise in Luxembourg and not only rely on international actors and the Swiss microfinance managers coming to Luxembourg. We need to build expertise here and that’s also one of the aims of [the International Climate Finance Accelerator Luxembourg], to attract more climate finance fund managers to Luxembourg, and then we need to grow the volumes. We really need to shift a

large part of assets, that today [we] manage traditionally, into more sustainable finance and into impact finance.

So how are you going to get those volumes?

We need clear incentives to invest more responsibly, be it impact funds, be it [environmental, social and governance] funds, it can be tax incentives. But it can also be other incentives. In France, for example, they’re promoting socially responsible funds via their occupational pension plans… so 10% of this money goes to impact finance. And I think that’s really good. It’s a commitment that they have taken that has really pushed the sector. So it’s not only tax. That’s by far not the only means we have. There are other things, especially when you think about long- →

49

Finance

“ We see climate risks appearing in traditional investments.�

50

term retirement savings, etc., that people should get aware of. [They should ask] ‘what is my money financing?’ And to integrate more long-term thinking into investment decisions than just a short-term commitment.

Do you think we need some disincentives, like a regulatory framework?

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

With computer trading, I once read the statistic, I don’t know if it’s true, but the average holding period of an equity position today is 19 seconds compared to 19 months five years ago. So this should clearly be disincentivised. There’s no value in investing for 19 seconds in a company.

Short-term thinking should be disincentivised by whatever means.

Now, disincentivising or penalising brown companies, compared to green companies, is always difficult because you [could undermine] a transition. There are a lot of companies who still earn most of their cash flow from the old business but who are developing new businesses and they are using this cash flow [to finance the transition]. We should not underestimate this transition and the time it needs.

But certainly, there need to be incentives to get it to grow faster.

↑

CORINNE MOLITOR

Are there some companies in Luxembourg that you think are doing a really good job in terms of being responsible and should really be applauded?

I wouldn’t be able to tell you one name, but I think a lot of companies are doing more and more with e-mobility. You see what the bus companies are doing, having hybrid buses and having fully electric buses. I mean, 10 years ago on boulevard Royal, the air quality was really bad.

Companies are thinking about the way they do business and about the way they source their products, compensating their [CO2] emissions, etc., [but that] hasn’t reflected yet into twisting their business model in a way to make it more sustainable.

As a B corporation [editor’s note: a certification that a for-profit company “balances purpose and profit” across its operations], we work on both sides; on the business we do and also the way we do business. So the twisting of the business model towards a more sustainable business model allowing you to reach the same level of revenues and of profit but with supporting clients and products that are more sustainable compared to others.

Is there a company or sector that’s really bad even if it would be relatively easy for them to make changes?

I think the financial sector.

The financial sector?

Yes. Insurance companies have to do a lot more. There’s so much money that is ‘sleeping’, that is just invested to be invested, but without thinking of what can really be supported with this money. So I think there lies an enormous potential. And so we have drafted together with [the United Nations Environment Programme] this road map for sustainable finance for Luxembourg.

There are a number of recommendations and points really to be addressed over the next 10 years to make sure that, purposefully, we twist the business model of banks, of asset managers, of funds, of insurance companies towards a more sustainable model. And we have an enormous potential there because our financial centre is so huge compared to the local market. And that also gives us a responsibility to do it. We often talk about fuel consumption in Luxembourg, which is disproportionate compared to the [number of] residents, which is attracting people from abroad because fuel is →

A partner at the consultancy Innpact, Corinne Molitor has more than 25 years of experience in the financial sector, including more than a dozen years working with corporate clients and institutional investors at Banque de Luxembourg. Innpact advises investors, companies and NGOs on how to successfully manage impact investments, which place societal objectives on the same footing as financial outcomes. ↳ www.innpact.com

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cheaper here, etc. Yes, that’s one thing, but I think the financial centre has a lever which is much more important.

You’re talking about a big shift towards responsible investments?

What’s the resistance? Is it investors or the people working in the investment sector?

I think it’s both. It’s this myth that sustainable investments generate less returns, so that there needs to be a trade-off between them. That’s a myth, because we see climate risks appearing in traditional investments.

We have risks that will generate losses; we have seen the first bankruptcy in the US [editor’s note: by an electric utility, filed earlier this year] that will generate losses that are not accounted for for the moment.

Is that more of a problem in Luxembourg or are financial markets behind globally?

I think they are globally behind, but we need to move fast because we see that risks are appearing. We see that there are huge opportunities also, especially in this transition phase where energy systems are transitioning, mobility transitions, food production is transitioning and so there are now huge opportunities to earn a lot of money in this transition phase.

It’s not just in Luxembourg; it’s generally that this ‘change management’ needs to happen and to accelerate. People, you know, if they do something well and they do it for 20 years the same way, are reluctant to change.

They are happy and they are in their bubble?

Yeah, yeah.

So how do you pop the bubble?

Change is hard, right?

You need to show more the opportunities.

The opportunities to generate financial returns and to give meaning to your money.

I was once in a conference in London where an ex-adviser of Barack Obama said you cannot just show catastrophe pictures to people to get them to move. She said: ‘I’m sick of seeing this fucking polar bear on the melting ice’. That’s right. I mean, you don’t see a polar bear [in Luxembourg]. I have never seen one except in movies and pictures and I don’t want to travel to the Arctic just to see a polar bear. So we need to show examples that are local, that people relate to, and you need to show opportunities rather than just catastrophic pictures because people get fed up very quickly and people get tired [of those images].

Yes, it’s still hard. On the other hand… there are a number of awards that have emerged and that are important for client and investor recognition because every investor cannot verify every [piece of] information on every product; that’s not possible.

You cannot verify everything, so we need these kinds of labelling agencies.

Luxflag is one; it’s very good but there are others that are also doing a good job. Now, we’re talking about an eco-label at EU level. So, for example, the eco-label exists for food and for a number of products, and now the EU commission wants to extend it to all sorts of financial products. So I think that’s important. I mean, you always have the critics who say ‘something that is labelled eco, you cannot trust it’. Yes, OK, but it’s better than having nothing. It’s already a good way already to start.

There are people who don’t have the knowledge and who don’t have the time to dig deep. But to those [investors], we should provide a simple to understand label where they [can] say, ‘OK I want to invest more responsibly and I want to be aware of where my money goes, so I choose these types of products’. So standardisation is important.

If there was one thing you could ask financial firms here in Luxembourg to do, what would it be?

Train their employees.

And what about consumers?

Ask questions to their insurance company, to their banker on sustainable and environmental themes. OK, they shouldn’t come with all the knowledge. I mean, they are the clients. They have a service provider, which is a bank [or] insurance company. It’s up to them to provide answers or to provide at least, you know, a process.

To say, ‘OK, we are developing these, or we are evolving to these [products]’. But, really, training is crucial. ×

51

MARK YOUR CALENDAR LUXEMBOURG MICROFINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Impact Ecosystem Event

Panels and presentations on responsible finance.

Tue 1 October, 18:15 Tramsschapp ↳ www.lmdf.lu

LUXFLAG Sustainable Investment Week

Talks covering climate finance, ESG, impact investing and the UN sustainable development goals.

Tue 22-Thu 24 October 15 locations across Luxembourg City ↳ www.luxflag.org

Finance

Exactly. Not having 1% or 2% invested responsibly, but growing that to 80%, 90%.

How can individual investors, who want change, check complicated claims?

52

← Claude Neidner of Arendt & Medernach SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Mancos under the microscope interview

Funds

At the heart of Luxembourg’s world leading cross-border fund industry are more than 400 management companies (mancos) employing nearly 6,000 people. What are these organisations, how has the concept grown, and have recent events called the model into question?

words

Stephen Evans

photos

Mike Zenari

H

from which they can launch and manage their Luxembourg fund without having a physical Luxembourg presence.

Speed to market has been an important factor in the context of UK funds seeking a post-Brexit base in the EU27. Also, it is an ongoing challenge to find and retain scarce human resources, and small mancos can be blown off course if a handful of key people leave. Thus, using a large third party can add resilience. They also might give greater flexibility as investment strategies and regulations change. However, as with every outsourced relationship, the fund is putting a high degree of reliance in a company over which they have no direct control.

Competitive market

Third parties might be a way of adding efficiencies to what is widely seen as a highly fractured market. According to PwC, there were 429 mancos at the end of last year, employing 5,705 people. In figures highlighted at the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry conference in March, over half of firms had less than €1bn assets under management, which cumulatively represented just 12% of total assets under management by Luxembourg mancos. At the other end of the spectrum, 39 firms were responsible for two-thirds of the total. Even so, most of these are relatively small operations, managing ­ above €25bn--a significant if not spectacular figure. Only six third party management companies had assets under management in excess of this figure, according to the PwC data.

“The third party manco market is quite competitive and margins are tight,” noted Claude Niedner, a partner with the law firm Arendt & Medernach. He and →

Third party advantages

What is the appeal of the third party ­option? Larger asset managers tend to prefer to run their mancos in-house, often for reasons related to the desire for control or taxation. The outsourced option is seen to be more appropriate for smaller or nonEU asset managers as well as those who wish to focus on core business. In effect, the third party manco delegates the fund’s portfolio management to the asset manager. This gives asset managers a platform

Employment in mancos

The number of people working at Luxembourg management companies has more than doubled over the past decade, with an increase of 12% recorded last year.

The consulting firm PwC said the trend “should continue in 2019”.

5,000 4,500 4,000

Source → CSSF, PwC

3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

53

Funds

ow to simplify and cut the cost of running and distributing investment funds across borders, while maintaining strong regulatory supervision? That was the challenge faced by European lawmakers at the start of the millennium, and their solution was a hub-and-spoke model centred on mancos (see box to right).

This solution allows fund promoters to centralise technical operations in one EU member state and sell seamlessly across borders. This is a more efficient option than requiring separate organisations in each market.

This structure was formalised by a reform of the Undertakings for Collec­ tive Investment in Transferable Securities (Ucits) directive in 2001. Ucits regulates funds mainly destined for a mass, retail market. Ten years later, this structure was extended to alternative strategies that invest in property, private equity, debt, hedge funds and so on. Mancos can be run inhouse, as part of the asset management group, or they can be outsourced to a third party which handles these operations for several funds and asset managers. Some mancos specialise in Ucits, others focus just on alternative investments. So called “super mancos” serve both sectors.

WHAT IS A MANCO? Management companies (mancos) are a key feature of Europe’s hub-and-spoke cross-border fund industry. They are commonly responsible for the web of relationships that link clients to fund investments. The EU requires a manco to be based in just one member state, supervised by the local regulator, with the funds they manage then free to be distributed into multiple markets.

The manco is ultimately responsible for overseeing the fund’s operations. After the fund manager has made the investment decisions, the manco puts this into action, working with fund administrators, depositaries and others, while also dealing with auditors and regulators.

They then distribute the fund to end investors and their advisors.

Mancos can be owned and run in-house, or outsourced to a third party.

54

Overview of Luxembourg domiciled management companies, December 2018

The use of mancos remains popular with managers of big Ucits (retail investor) funds and with smaller alternative investment funds (for professional and savvy investors).

Assets under management € 2,500bn € 2,250bn € 780bn € 720bn

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

€ 660bn € 600bn € 540bn € 480bn € 420bn € 360bn € 300bn Source → CSSF, Fundsquare

€ 240bn € 180bn € 120bn € 60bn € 00bn AuM below €1bn Total

others see the need for consolidation to boost efficiency. This is happening horizontally with firms taking over competitors or similar players in other markets.

Examples include Fundrock’s acquisition of SEB Fund Services to boost its offering to the Nordic market. Also, Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services purchased a majority stake in Crossroads Capital Management, a Dublin-based AIFM and Ucits manco.

The search for scale

There have also been vertical mergers, allowing manco services to be offered as part of a full range of services. An example is Apex Luxembourg, which acquired a range of players so that it now has in excess of 500 employees in Luxembourg. Similarly, there was the takeover of Luxembourg Investment Solutions by Sanne, allying alternatives manco expertise with a suite of fund-related and general business services.

“The sweet spot starts at about €30bn as this gives sufficient scale in terms of staffing, presence and specialisation,” said David Rhydderch, president of Apex Group, speaking at the Alfi European ­Asset Management conference in March. He spoke of

AuM between €1bn-€3bn AuM between €3bn-€5bn AuM between €5bn-€25bn AIF

AuM above €25bn

Ucits

a gradual, inevitable process with the biggest players exerting “gravitational pull.”

Players like Apex and Fundrock are both backed by private equity investors seeking to grow their businesses with a view to a later sale.

Pierre Weimerskirch, managing director of Luxembourg Investment Solutions, cautioned that acquisitions have to be planned with care, and this involves deep understanding of each firm’s client base.

“It’s about the quality, as on-boarding a client with relatively few assets can often require as much work as a much larger portfolio, but with lower profitability,” he noted.

Blow-up highlights risks

There is also the political challenge of playing in a market that hinges on regulation.

For example, a recent blow-up in a UK fund has led some to point to deficiencies in the way the EU fund industry is regulated. Bank of England governor Mark Carney claimed that some investment funds regulated under EU rules are “built on a lie.” The Financial Times suggested the manco structure is “fraught with potential for conflicts of interest.”

This controversy arose after the suspension of the Woodford Equity Income Fund, a UK-based Ucits fund. As a product destined mainly for retail markets, Ucits are forbidden from holding more than 10% of their assets in illiquid securities. This is primarily designed to ensure the liquidity which enables clients to sell their investments when they want.

The Woodford fund invested in non-listed assets below this 10% level.

However, disappointing performance led to substantial number of clients selling out of the fund, resulting in this 10% threshold being breached. The fund managers were reluctant to sell their unlisted securities to correct this as these investments had not reached maturity and they wanted to avoid a fire sale. Instead, the fund chose to list these assets on the Guernsey stock exchange. Although technically this ­ brought the fund into line with the letter of Ucits rules, it did little to boost liquidity in reality.

This move did not stem investor ­concerns, causing clients to redeem their investments in ever greater numbers until ultimately the viability of the fund became threatened.

55

Number of Ucits mancos and licensed AIFMs 2010-2018

A third of new manco entities registered in Luxembourg last year were linked to Brexit preparations, according to PwC. Assets under management

2018

Funds

Eventually, on 3 June, with investors selling up at an unsustainable rate, it was decided to suspend redemptions, and in July, this restriction was extended to December. The fund hopes to use this time to rebalance the portfolio without having to offload the illiquid investments at a cut price in a ­panic sale.

2017

Potential conflict of interest

Clear rules worked

Moreover, the Woodford affair shows that the Ucits rules are clear and have an impact. Reporting requirements demonstrated that the Woodford fund sailed too close to the 10% limit, and ultimately the market punished this behaviour. Indeed, although it did not occur in this case, the third party model provides the potential for a further check on the fund. An in-house manco is probably less likely to blow the whistle. Perhaps the most salient point is that seeking to design regulation that prevents all unethical behaviour is impossible, and could cause unintended negative consequences.

Nevertheless, given the highly competitive third party manco market, the temptation is there to cut corners on corporate governance in the pursuit of market share.

“We have terminated contracts with a few clients because we were not happy with their strategy,” noted Weimerskirch. “As a client, you have to ask yourself about the reputation of the third party manager and their clients, and whether you wish to be

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012 Source → CSSF, PwC

Part of the controversy stems from the role played by the fund’s third party manco, operated by the Australian firm Link.

Questions have been raised in the press whether they did all they could to alert the regulators regarding the listing of the troublesome assets. Critics see this as evidence of the potential for conflicts of interest. While under the law the manco is in charge, the asset manager is de ­facto in the driving seat as they ultimately choose which third party manco to use. There is an incentive for service providers to not report their client’s legal but suspect ­behaviour to the regulator.

Niedner sees the potential problem, but thinks that mancos are today already subject to strict conflict of interest rules. Further, there are other examples in business life where clients appoint service providers in order to monitor their activities. “Fund depositaries and external auditors are too required to be independent and monitor the clients who appoint them,” he said. In all these cases, regulators will be aware of the potential concerns, and all these firms know the potential damage that can be caused by a reputational hit.

2011

2010

0

40 Ucits mancos

80

120 Licensed AIFMs

associated with them in this key business relationship.” Often, it can be more about the feel of any given relationship. “It is for management companies to look at their own risk profile and match with clients with whom they feel culturally aligned,” noted Richard Marshall, head of product and network at Fundrock.

The local regulator has taken steps to ensure that all players understand what is required. The CSSF’s circular 18/698 from last year spells out the rules and best practice. “The circular is useful as it sets out clearly the CSSF’s expectations in relation to manco substance, and thus, it sets a new standard in the European regulatory environment and helps to avoid the potential for a regulatory race to the bottom,” stated Niedner.

More independence or technology?

Some believe potential problems would be minimised further if funds were required to have independent directors on their boards. Being aware of the strategy and policy making of the organisation, and their lack of a direct financial relationship to the fund would encourage these people

160

200

240

280

Super mancos

to call out potentially questionable behaviour. Indeed, from September this year, it has been a requirement for UK-based funds to have two independent directors.

Even though there have been informal suggestions from figures at the CSSF that this would be advisable in Luxembourg, it is thought that there are no plans to make this mandatory here in the short term.

IT too can help with data analysis, reporting and due diligence, facilitat­ ing profitability in a competitive market.

“Those players with robust technology will have an opportunity to be scalable, diversify easily into additional business lines, and perform governance at a high standard while pressure on fees continue,” noted Ross Thomson, head of global implemented solutions at Carne Group. He sees this as an opportunity for third party mancos to attract more in-house managers unwilling to make the necessary IT investment. ×

get the picture

Aviation

Taking off

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

First take-off Aviation in Luxembourg began in June 1910, in Mondorf-les-Bains.

It is estimated that half the population attended the first flight.1

Location Before Findel was chosen to locate the airport, the favourite site for a scalable commercial airport was in FilsdorfHassel. Kirchberg was also in the top three.2

To mark the centenary of the world’s first commercial flight from London to Paris, Delano considers Luxembourg’s aviation past, present and future. words

photo

Jess Bauldry Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne

Biggest carriers In 2017, the top five passenger airlines operating at Luxembourg airport were Luxair, Ryanair, Lufthansa, Easyjet and KLM.5

Employment Over 4,500 people work at the airport, including 254 airport staff 5, 1,531 for Cargolux 6 and 2,828 for Luxair.7

Traffic In 2018, 4.04m passengers were recorded at Luxembourg airport while 895,000 tonnes of air cargo passed through.3

Jacques Wiesenbach The first Luxembourger to fly was Jacques Wiesenbach, who took a test flight in April 1910.

It’s thought he never flew again.1 First international link The first international commercial flight from the grand duchy was a De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide.

It flew the Radio Luxembourg records between Croydon, in the UK, and the aerodrome in Esch-sur-Alzette.1

Vincent Wiesenbach Jacques’ older brother, Vincent, was the first Luxembourger to obtain a pilot’s license. He became an instructor for the Austrian air force.1

Sources → 1. Musée de l’Aviation Luxembourgeoise, Mondorf → 2. Musée de l’Aviation Luxembourgeoise, March 1946 government report → 3. Administration de la Navigation Aérienne → 4. AIM Belgium 19 July 2017 → 5. Luxairport 2017 annual report → 6. Cargolux press office → 7. LuxairGroup 2018 annual report

58

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special report

Entrepreneurship & project funding

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Building a business

€€€€ €€€€ €€€€

Any company founder will tell you they need to be a “jack of all trades”. Yet finance, legal and management issues remain top-line concerns for all of them, as Delano explores in this section.

But we start by checking with Luxembourg’s “one-stop shop” for business owners.

Photo → House of Entrepreneurship

60

1.

Simplification for startups

This edition is bound to be a success, if the figures for 2018 hold up: according to the House of Entrepreneurship, last year’s Entrepreneurs Days welcomed over 1,030 attendees--well over their initial target of 600.

But events are just one of the services provided by the House of Entrepreneurship.

As its entrepreneurship director, Tom Baumert, explained, the mission and skill set of the 30-odd staff members (some 36 if factoring in Nyuko) are quite broad but aim to be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurship, consolidating a number of stakeholders in business creation.

relationship or sales management systems or other digital tools. Baumert says their initiative is “very hands-on, with over 7,000 people in our workshops,” adding: “There’s a voucher system behind it with the ministry of the economy to get funding to digitalise the company, and this is really important for us because as a chamber of commerce we are talking about the third industrial revolution, and so on.” Once again, here the House of Entrepreneurship can point companies to the voucher system, but the implementation lies elsewhere. “We help them know the system and get into it and get basic information about digitalisation, but when it comes to the point really of an implementation phase, there are private actors that can do it better than we do and are specialised to do so.” ×

Startup nation

2.

Making your case

Baumert points out that the term “startup” is not always one which is agreed upon.

“I think there’s a problem of understanding, because [some] thought of a startup as a new company, others are talking about startups, as in a startup nation. These are the ones that are more thinking about the unicorns--the Amazons and Facebooks of the world,” he says.

“I would say there are 300 startups in Luxembourg maximum. All the other ones, and we have 4,500 business creations, are traditional businesses.”

While traditional businesses can normally approach a bank with a tight business plan and ask for a line of credit, innovative startups are looking for angel investors or venture capital, getting on the stock market, even planning a quick exit strategy and, as Baumert explains, it’s the former types of businesses which are more of their main customers.

Tom Baumert Entrepreneurship director House of Entrepreneurship ↓

“ We help them know the system and get into it."

While Baumert says he is pleased with what the team is able to offer, they are continuously trying to improve.

“One part which is evolving is the viability centre (centre de prévention), helping companies that [are having difficulties].

That’s something we are trying to develop over the course of the year.”

Baumert also cites the Go Digital initiative as a success. Part of their challenge is general awareness-raising among traditional businesses--say, restaurants--in how they can embrace digitalisation, whether through the use of social media, customer

↳ www.entrepreneursdays.lu words

Natalie A. Gerhardstein

Some companies need cash to get off the ground; others need external funds to grow and thrive. Either way convincing investors can be a daunting prospect.

Delano spoke with Guylaine BouquetHanus at the House of Entrepreneurship to get some advice for founders seeking to secure financing.

What information do entrepreneurs need to include in their business plans? guylaine bouquet-hanus There is actually aaron grunwald

no right or wrong way to write a business plan as long as you (and your potential business partner) are comfortable with the format. You might prefer a traditional business plan format if you are very detailoriented or a comprehensive business plan if you foresee requesting financing from traditional sources like a banking institution. You will have to outline your funding requirements over the next years under a specific section. It is crucial to specify whether you are seeking debt or equity funding and the terms of funding you are looking for (duration, conditions, covenants, etc.).

Giving a detailed description of how you will use your funds (e.g., buy equipment or materials, pay salaries or cover working capital needs) is also compulsory. Furthermore, you have to complete your funding request with financial projections (in general over

→

61

Entrepreneurship & project funding

For the next edition of Entrepreneurs Days on 9 October, the House of Entrepreneurship will welcome Zev Siegl, one of three Starbucks co-founders, as its keynote speaker. Today, Starbucks boasts some 30,000 stores in 78 countries--not to mention $25bn in revenue. And it all began as a humble startup.

“We had a big company that was here for two days and got appointments, one after the other,” Baumert says, describing one case. The company was able to meet with the Adem jobs agency, Luxinnovation promotion group and others all in the same short timeframe. “They basically got an overview on Luxembourg and in touch with the most important ministries for them, on the same day and same place… that’s something that didn’t exist before.”

Of course, most passing through their doors aren’t such large companies: Baumert states that some 99% of them are SMEs, about half of which are in the process of creation. And, while the House of Entrepreneurship doesn’t provide legal advice or create business plans (see next article), it has touchpoints with local partners and incubators, enabling it to serve as a facilitator. “We can bring them together with the right ministries, administrations, semi-public institutions,” Baumert says.

62

Luxembourg companies by size, 2016 The vast majority of Luxembourg companies are SMEs. Roughly 3 out of 4 firms have less than 5 employees; 4 out of 5 have less than 10.

39% Without employees 10.6% 5-9 employees

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

10.5% 10-49 employees

0.5% 250 employees and more

37.2% 1-4 employees

projections. This is a great place to use graphs, diagrams and charts to tell the financial story of your business.

Is there a big difference between securing finance for a startup versus a more established company that needs to grow?

At the beginning, the only collateral a new entrepreneur can provide for securing their financing requirements are [their] personal reputation, professional expertise and the quality of their business plan. Financing will likely come from non-traditional sources... As a business matures, however, its track record and viability become clearer and further traditional financing options can be unlocked.

What other advice do you have for entrepreneurs looking to finance their firm?

Guylaine Bouquet-Hanus Business manager House of Entrepreneurship ↓

“ Clearly explain your projections.”

Even if you are not a “financial person”, as a business owner and leader, you must keep an eye on your expenses and learn how to thoroughly understand financial statements and budgeting.

Many new businesses have failed because the entrepreneur was not able to adjust spending to avoid running out of cash.

Establishing a detailed, month-by-month budget is important, and this budget must be regularly reviewed and updated.

Understanding your financial statements, or getting a partner to help you get the

big picture on metrics, will also help you answer typical questions from prospective investors such as “What are the company’s three-year projections? What are the key assumptions underlying your projections?

What future equity or debt financing will be necessary? What are the factors that limit faster growth? What are the key metrics that the management team focuses on?” × ↳ www.houseofentrepreneurship.lu words

Aaron Grunwald

3.

Laying legal groundwork When is it “too soon” for a startup to begin worrying about legal issues? “The simple answer is ‘it’s never too soon’,” according to Olivier Reisch. A partner with DLA Piper, a law firm, Reisch knows startups are focused on getting their product onto the market, and “all the finer legal details might not necessarily be the first priority.

But I have seen quite a number of cases where that came back to bite the startup afterwards.” He cited the example of a small Luxembourg firm “that was heavily dependent on a hardware manufacturer in China. And instead of seeking any legal support, they just kind of winged it.”

While that worked fine for a while, “at some point, there was a disagreement on certain provisions in the agreement,” →

Photo → Vincent Flamion Photography

the next three to five years). Your goal is to provide information [to demonstrate] that your business will be growing and become a success story. If your business is already established, you can include income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for the last three to five years.

If you are starting out, then include forecast income statements, cash flow statements and working capital

Source → Statec

2.1% 50-249 employees

F

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Funding sources, 2017 Family and friends are the biggest source of investment into Luxembourg startups, according to a study by Luxembourg’s statistics bureau, Statec.

28.3%

Other

24.4%

Work colleague

23.6%

Other relative

10.9%

Often, entrepreneurs do not realise they fall under certain regulatory frameworks.

For instance, “anything edible, then immediately you have health legislation concerned or food labelling issues that might pop up.” There are all sorts of rules on making clothing and accessories.

He said an inspection or complaint could “quite immediately kill your company”.

“Sometimes, regulation is not a bad thing either, especially for financial services,” because firms can seek authorisation in their home country but will be able to operate across the EU using the bloc’s “passporting mechanism”, he noted.

Without that EU rulebook, “instead of doing the exercise once, you’d have to [apply] 28--or soon 27--times.” Nonetheless, founders still have to be aware of national regulations that apply on top of EU rules, such as in the healthcare sector.

more than €50, 000

Stranger with a good business idea

7%

He has seen plenty of other errors by startup founders. For example, sharing information about a “cool new product” without a non-disclosure agreement.

An NDA has, Reisch reckoned, “basically two purposes. The first purpose is obviously to make sure that people keep the idea to themselves. And the other purpose, of course, is to establish that you had the idea at a certain point in time.”

Investor relationship

Friend or neighbour

5.8%

Costly mistakes

24%

Amount provided

26%

Close family member

€50, 000 €10, 000

Getting started

Reisch said that entrepreneurs could begin by checking within their circle of family, friends and colleagues. Maybe a legal professional can take a quick look at documents, which is better than nothing. “There are also law firms like ours that offer specific packages to startups.

We have a programme called ‘DLA Piper Accelerate’, where startups basically can download a certain number of [generic] legal agreements from our website.”

These include templates for employment contracts and company bylaws for several countries. “But it will only get you so far.”

His and many other law firms are open to meeting company founders for networking purposes. “It’s not a matter

→

€10, 000 €1,000

Source → Statec survey

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

said Reisch. “It went to court and in the end, it cost our startup here in Luxembourg several million euros in contractual costs. So had they invested, in the beginning, a few thousand euros into having the agreement reviewed by a lawyer or having some form of legal support when they entered into the agreement, I’m very confident that they would not have ended up in the same situation.”

50%

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66

Financing small and medium sized enterprises SMEs represent more than two-thirds of Luxembourg’s economy, but they shell out more to obtain financing. In 2017, SMEs paid “45% more in interest than large corporations,” according to the OECD.

€200M

900

€180M

€80M

800

€160M

€70M

700

€140M

€60M

600

€120M

500

€100M

400

€80M

300

€60M

200

€40M

100

€20M

€50M €40M €30M €20M €10M €0

0 2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2.0%

1.8%

1.6%

1.4%

1.2%

€0

1.0% 2013

2014

2015

New business lending, total

Interest rate, SMEs

New business lending, SME

Interest rate, large firms

Bankruptcies, SMEs

Venture and growth capital

of being on a clock from the first minute, but we are always happy to meet startups if only for a chat, or discover what they are doing, and then sometimes we can work something out that works for both parties, sometimes we cannot,” Reisch said.

At the end of the day, startups may just have to buckle down and pay for legal services.

“Yes, legal advice can be seen as expensive,” said David Alexandre, a senior associate at DLA Piper, “but not as expensive as the problems you could have if you don’t use legal advice from the outset.” × words

Aaron Grunwald

4.

Family affairs thriving

Olivier Reisch Partner DLA Piper ↓

“ It can quite immediately kill your company.”

Family-run companies in Luxembourg are growing faster than investor-owned firms and they are doing better in gender diversity and keeping personnel on board.

So said Yves Even, the entrepreneurship, SME and family business services leader at the consulting firm EY. Last year’s “EY Growth Barometer” report concluded that “family businesses have a greater focus on talent as a growth enabler than their peers,” noted Even. “Almost half (49%) in 2018 plan to hire full-time staff, compared to 38% of non-family businesses. We see family businesses in Luxembourg seeking to lock in scarce talent, building on established skills in motivating staff over the long term, while determinedly looking to attract young digital talent into their organisations.”

“Diversity has shot up the family-owned

2016

2017

Source → OECD

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

1,000

€90M

company’s recruitment agenda: 40% cited it as their biggest priority in 2018, against 37% in 2017,” Even said. “Given the many studies proving diversity as a key contributor to team efficiency, success and decision-making, it is good to see family business leaders embrace the proven gains of more diverse teams.”

Nearly one in ten family-run outfits are led by a woman, compared to 3% for other Luxembourg companies, “and 24% of executive leadership is female,” Even observed. “Leaders of family business in Luxembourg acknowledge they have more to do, though, and still put diversity at the top of the recruitment agenda.”

Family firms can “attract scarce talent” and develop staff loyalty as, he reckoned, “people like being employed by family businesses because they can feel part of a vision, part of something that has a specific character, where the owners of the business are working alongside them.”

Faster movers

“We find that family-run companies are growing faster,” reported Christophe Gence, an associate director in the same EY practice. About a third of family firms aim for double-digit growth, compared to a quarter of non-family businesses.

Gence stated: “We see two factors at work.

SMEs are grasping the upside of disruption, expanding beyond their borders and creating new business opportunities. →

Photo → Maison Moderne

€100M

But we also see family businesses using the advantages of greater agility and streamlined decision-making to move faster than their non-family business peers.”

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

“Members of the next generation often find themselves questioning what is the right individual path for them in business and ownership succession,” said Gence.

To help address those issues, his firm has been running the “EY NextGen Academy” for more than a decade, which features week-long training courses, and an online “Business Check” programme with the ministry of economy for the past five years. The House of Training also has a 40-hour business management course popular with new SME leaders.

Tax relief

Recent tax measures could help some successors who want to take over a family business, but not necessarily the firm’s property investments. Giuseppe Tuzze, associate partner at EY, stated: “Any immovable property or part of immovable property not sold in the [framework] of

the business transfer but which is part of the net assets of the enterprise and necessary for the [operation] of the business can be valued at book value by the transferor.” That means capital gains taxes on the property are delayed “until the transferor decides to transfer the immovable property or part of it to his private wealth” or the buyer no longer runs the business or “changes the activity of the business transferred”.

FAMILY BUSINESS SUCCESSIONS

The tax rule change took effect for the 2017 fiscal year but will only apply to “individuals exploiting a commercial business (either individually or through a commercial partnership), an agricultural and forestry business and independent professional business,” Tuzze explained.

That means a “capital company” like those incorporated as a Sàrl or SA “cannot benefit” from the tax delay. × words

Aaron Grunwald

5.

Creating a buzz with investors

Around 200 small- and mediumsized enterprises, “employing between 7,500 and 8,000 people”, are expected to be passed down to family members each year in the coming decade, according to Yves Even of EY, citing Idea Foundation and EY forecasts.

The next generation will take over around 50 firms in the construction sector, 45 in retail, 34 in technology, 20 in industry and 19 hospitality outfits annually over the next five years, the Idea Foundation reckoned.

That assumes “one-third of the family business’ owners will retire,” Even explained.

EY’s Giuseppe Tuzze said overall about one in three “family-owned businesses are passed on within the family” and two-thirds are “sold to outside investors”.

When moving to a new country, it is sometimes difficult to meet new people to socialise with, let along find someone that shares similar hobbies. That is why Jacques-Félix Wirtz and Loïc Ambroise founded Dappin, an app that connects people around similar interests and common activities. But recently Wirtz and Ambroise themselves needed to connect with some folks… financial backers to get the project off the ground.

Dappin app Yves Even Partner EY ↓

“ We see family businesses in Luxembourg seeking to lock in scarce talent.”

Wirtz said he started to think about the app during an internship in New York in 2015.

“Completely on my own, I struggled in the first months to find people with whom I could easily hang out on the weekends and evenings, for certain activities, such as going to the Moma or discovering Manhattan, without having to use dating apps.” Later he met Ambroise, originally from France, during their business studies in London, and they built a demo version of Dappin. (The Urban Dictionary defines “dappin” as “the most fun you can have without being intoxicated”.)

The way the networking app works is simple. Users create an activity based on what they are looking for. There are 15 main categories to choose from: movies, museums, sports, bars,

→

Photo → Maison Moderne

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Persons employed, 2016 While SMEs are an important source of Luxembourg jobs, larger outfits employ more people overall. Excluding the financial and insurance sectors, about 18% of the workforce is employed by firms with less than 10 employees, while 57% work for companies with 50 or more staff.

Employment At least 250 people

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

50-249 people

20-49 people

Firms with 0-9 people 0

In 2017, Wirtz and Ambroise presented their prototype on the RTL TV reality show “Success Story” (which is similar to “Dragons’ Den” in the UK or “Shark Tank” in the US). “On ‘Success Story’, we had to present our concept in ten minutes in front of a jury--an elevator pitch--followed by a more in depth presentation of a few elements of our business plan. This already gave investors some valuable insight about the app and the idea behind it,” says Wirtz. Following the broadcast, “we were contacted by many people from Luxembourg” who wanted to learn more about the app and possibly invest in their firm.

Beyond prototypes

Those prospective investors were definitely interested in testing out the prototype, however, they really wanted to know “how we are going to monetise the app in the future. It is great to have an impeccable prototype, but it is as important to have a product that will attract users and make money.” Wirtz and Ambroise ended up taking placements from two local

40, 000

80, 000

60, 000

100, 000

investors, who, “through their jobs and position in Luxembourg, have the right business mindset to be part of the company and help us make relevant connections,” Wirtz said in August.

He would not disclose the amount they raised, but “the money invested in the company will help us to cover our app development, storage and marketing costs for the next couple of months”.

They hope to generate revenue soon.

“The app will become next year a freemium app: the app remains free, but we will insert certain paid functionalities, e.g., boosting of activities in the future to monetise the app,” states Wirtz. “We also plan partnerships with companies which would like to be featured on the app.”

What advice does Wirtz have for budding entrepreneurs? “Dedication and passion are key. Building a startup takes a lot of time and is not always easy. As an entrepreneur you have to be able to deal with everything and be competent in each possible field--or at least interested in each possible field. It is also important to participate as much as possible in incubator contests, as it is a good way to show your project, gain visibility and get useful advice. For example, we discussed [our project] with the other entrepreneurs during ‘Success Story’ and so got introduced to our developers.” × words

Lena Fix

Jacques-Félix Wirtz Co-founder Dappin ↓

“ Participate in incubator contests.”

Photo → Dappin/Jill Wenger

exploring, restaurants, concerts, parties, amusement parks, libraries, cooking, travelling, games and ‘other’. Once those steps are done, users are matched with someone that has the same interest.

One woman, a beekeeper, was able to find a partner to make honey.

20, 000

Source → Statec

10-19 people

À vendre à Imbringen : Corps de Ferme ferme rénovée associant des intérieurs de cuisson professionnel. À l’étage, la chambre parentale M ajestueuse spectaculaires en bois avec un incroyable travail vitrée vous laissera sans voix, avec ses poutres et finitions

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For sale in Imbringen : Farmhouse

M

ajestic converted farmhouse which combines stunning wooden interiors with incredibly designed metal work. The house is secluded by a wall and electric gates, opening on to a terrace, catching the afternoon sun. Ceilings are high throughout the property, especially in the vast lounge; the window framed master bedroom above and glass landing floors act as a partial mezzanine. The kitchen

Terrain : 21a 86ca

includes an island and a professional hob and oven. Upstairs the master bedroom will leave you speechless with its open wood work. The rear of the house offers a natural stone terrace and swimming pool, which is in the sunlight for 12h a day. Beyond the terrace is a Finnish style sauna, a paddock and stables. This property has an adjacent barn, which could be converted into offices or apartments.

Surface approx. : 510 m2

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Have a pain smoother

Aurore Calvi Managing partner Omnitrust sponsored content

Perspectives

What is your best advice for someone starting up their own firm?

Despite simplifications introduced over the last couple of years by the Luxembourg government to foster entrepreneurship, starting a business and navigate through the various requirements and administrative steps necessary to set up a company remains a real challenge and still requires a lot of energy and efforts.

In my view, having the right support alongside is really the key to set up your own firm most efficiently. This is even more the case when you arrive from abroad. Finding someone that can guide you in making relevant contact with the Luxembourg ecosystem and introduce you to the appropriate people can not only save you time, but also avoid making some mistakes that can cost you time and money.

This starts with the choice of the right structure or legal form, as this might have implications on the liabilities of the entrepreneur, but also on the necessary authorisation that need to be obtained from the relevant ministries.

Similarly, dealing with certain other administrative and legal tasks can be really burdensome and one can easily be lost as the stakeholders and counterparties are numerous and have different expectations in terms of the necessary documents they will require to complete their processes. Notaries, tax advisors, banks or insurance companies are all extremely willing to support but all have their own processes and legal requirements to fulfill. The support of an advisor used to work with them can smoothen the pain.

Additionally, opening a bank account and obtaining the financing might also

be seen as the conquest of one of the Himalayan peaks, as the possibilities to get a financing are diverse but not always known and very understandable for the wider public. An entrepreneur can benefit from a range of state support but this is not necessarily known to them. It is therefore the role of the advisor to identify which state subsidies or support could be requested and make the liaison with the authorities.

Finally, although the entrepreneur is passionate, it is important not to rush to make sure that all aspects have been well considered and addressed. This is the place where the advisor who has a bit more of step back should moderate and refocus the entrepreneur on the priorities and ensure the key decisions are taken on time. Having a “gate keeper” also allows the entrepreneur to focus on what really matters to him: his business and how to grow it. This will require a business plan that realistically reflects the entrepreneur’s expectations and investment needs.

Lastly, since statistically one out of five new company will go bankrupt during the first months of its existence, maintaining the right partner alongside can help passing the cut.

With our connection to the various Luxembourg stakeholders and our experience in accompanying clients, OmniTrust can support not only in all the initial steps of the entrepreneurship journey, but also once the company has been set up and is up and running. ×

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TOP 10

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Zenview, offering what it calls “relaxation in a new dimension”, is based at the Luxembourg House of Startups. Providing a fully immersive environment through its virtual reality technology, Zenview was named one of “10 Luxembourgish startups to look out for in 2019” by online publication EU-Startups. ↳ www.zenview.lu

interview

Workplace well-being

Control your own world Luxembourg startup Zenview is more than mere virtual reality: its co-founders Agnella Serafin and Mathias Keune hope to redefine well-being in the workplace. words photo

Natalie A. Gerhardstein Patricia Pitsch

I

magine that instead of your next coffee break, you could enter a meeting room and be transported to a forest, hear the lulling lapping of a lake and take a seat in the shade of a tree. All it takes is about 4 square metres, according to Mathias Keune and Agnella Serafin, the masterminds behind Zenview.

Zenview is a Luxembourg-based startup that has developed a fully immersive, virtual reality platform and “combines the healing properties of nature and the proven effect of meditation,” according to Serafin.

It works mainly on a subscription model, so a company has all-inclusive access to the software, including eight VR environ-

ments, and service after the initial setup of the hardware and physical space. Internal promotional materials can also be provided to help engage employees. “At the beginning, we organise a workshop around mental well-being,” Serafin says.

“Most companies in Luxembourg don’t yet have any kind of programme implemented.” The generation of overall usage reports also provides feedback on employees’ emotions, on an anonymous basis.

Keune says the VR covers a range of senses--“it’s easy to escape”--and that, in addition to workplaces, he could envision it being useful “in other environments where people have to stay but might not want to stay, like a hospital, airport, elderly home--all the places where people don’t have such easy access to nature.”

The future roadmap for Zenview looks promising. Working with researchers, “we’re looking into integrating biofeedback into the system,” says Keune, adding that this could potentially include heart rate and brain waves. In the longer term, “it could even be possible to control the world by your brain: if you are calm, the sun is shining, but if you are thinking about problems and are stressed, it starts to rain.

That’s definitely the future.”

For the moment, Zenview has been operating in Luxembourg, but the team hopes to have a more compact, mobile version of the box, which would help with international expansion. Other plans include setting up a built-in “camera” allowing screenshots to be taken inside the world (say, at a canyon) and immediately be printed, photo-booth style. In addition to the realistic environments, the co-founders also hope to develop more abstract ones which could include, for example, chromotherapy elements. ×

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 interview

Retail wine business

Bottle by bottle Guy Tabourin of Vinoteca explains the challenges and the upsides of the retail wine trade here in the print edition and during September’s Delano Live event. words

G

uy Tabourin’s path to running a retail wine store followed an indirect route.

It started back in 1995 when Tabourin, a former journalist, and his wife opened Chiggeri, which soon became the restaurant with the most extensive wine list on the planet (at least according to the “Guinness Book of World Records”). Tabourin noticed that many of his fellow restaurateurs struggled to find decent, affordable wines for their establishments and started Vinoteca as a wine list outsourcing service. They ­­select the wines and print up the lists, and can even directly manage clients’ stock.

As an experiment, Vinoteca opened its Kirchberg warehouse to individuals and soon customers were buying bottles by the carton load. That led to a standalone shop, first in Hollerich and for the past four years just off place du Théâtre in the capital.

Aaron Grunwald

photo

Mike Zenari

­ oday, retail represents about 30% of the T firm’s total turnover, Tabourin states.

The shift from B2B to B2C and then from warehouse to boutique space ­required a fair amount of adaptation. ­ Customers don’t often buy cartons these days; “Here, it’s more bottle by bottle.” So when there are two staffers in the shop, they offer to carry purchases to customers’ cars in the Théâtre parking garage. And the firm expanded its delivery service for restaurants to include retail customers. “Before coming in, you know you can buy more” and get home delivery.

Getting people in the door

Wine sales remain a face-to-face business.

“When people discover our shop and they say, ‘oh, it’s nice, all the wines you have’,” that leads to good sales. Yet getting shoppers

in the door, even for wine tastings, is the key challenge, partly due to ever increasing competition. So Vinoteca is big on giving courses and attending wine fairs to garner visibility and draw in new clientele.

The shop has a series of ten wine appreciation classes (which can be taken separately or as a complete course). While these bring good exposure, they don’t generate much in direct sales (although many participants do return to shop later). But Vinoteca creates customised wine tastings for groups of 10 that Tabourin says work well. “The idea is that people want to fill up a little bit their cellar and then they ask around ‘do you need some wine’ and they come really to buy wines. The wine fairs are working a little bit in that same sense.”

Indeed, Vinoteca sells relatively little via its e-shop. Mainly when “people discovered

← Guy Tabourin is seen inside the Vinoteca wine shop in Luxembourg City-Centre

DELANO LIVE

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1

Delano events

Lëtz get quizzical 2019 The most recent Delano Live saw the return of our annual game show, 9 July.

Two teams of local notables answered questions about the grand duchy’s current affairs, history, geography and traditions. ↳ www.delano.lu

a bottle in the shop and they order it” online afterwards, Tabourin observes. “It’s more reordering than ordering.”

The shop’s worst months, for several years running, are August and September.

Why? “I have absolutely no idea.” On the other hand, “we double our normal turnover in December” as wine is a popular holiday gift and more is bought for all “the end-of-year parties”.

1 Delano’s Duncan Roberts and Natalie Gerhardstein during the quiz show 2 Charles Maes and Nicoleta Puscasu 3 Irina Holzinger, Moritz Ruhstaller, Wendy Winn and Jim Kent are seen participating on the panel 4 Renata Plewniak 5 John Miller and Karen Miller 6 Marianna Shirokova and Dmitri Shirokov

2

3

4

Purchasing patterns

Tabourin sees a big difference in purchases between foreigners and native Luxem­ bourgers. Foreigners buy local. Tourists are looking for Luxembourg wine to bring home.

“Expats and frontaliers [cross-border commuters] don’t know Luxembourgish wines and they’re interested in discovering wines that are made in the country they are living” and working in. But “Luxembourgish people never buy Luxembourgish wines” in the shop. Perhaps, he theorises, because they buy direct from wineries.

After years in the trade, Tabourin still seems enthusiastic about selling wine.

“Maybe it’s a cliché, but I think wine drinkers are nice people,” he says with a laugh, “and wine producers, by the way, too, so I have the advantage of being surrounded by nice people.” But what “I really love in the shop here is the international part of it.

We see so many people from everywhere in the world,” including the mix of expats, cross-border commuters and tourists.

“It’s so international and that’s the thing I love the most. When I have a tourist from New Zealand coming in and we talk about wine, it’s something unimaginable that you have that in Luxembourg all the time. It’s not once a month, it’s every day!”

Tabourin says English is in fact the most popular language in the Vinoteca shop, used with about 50% of customers. “Yeah, more than French.” × vinoteca.lu

5

6

COMING UP Delano Live

Welcome to Luxembourg

Each edition of Delano Live features live onstage interviews with people and on topics covered by Delano magazine, but with a fresh perspective. That’s followed by an open bar and a bit of networking.

Seminar for freshly arrived expats.

Tuesday 15 October, 09:30 Alvisse Parc Hotel

Next up: Employment trends in 2020 Tuesday 12 November, 18:30 Knokke Out, Rives de Clausen

Win tickets for the next Delano Live ↳ www.delano.lu/agenda

78

Agenda

Here is a selection of 10 upcoming business, informational and networking events for Luxembourg’s international community.

Alfi

British Chamber of Commerce

Brexit talk With the UK theoretically leaving the EU on Halloween, Nicolas Mackel of Luxembourg for Finance, the state-backed promotion body, speaks on “Brexit and beyond”.

Speakers at the “Collateral management: Latest regulatory developments and impacts for the fund industry” conference include Nathalie Dogniez of PwC. Tue 1 October, 08:00-17:05 Chamber of Commerce, Kirchberg ↳ www.alfi.lu

Step Benelux

Family advisors conference

Thu 26 September, 12:00 La Table du Belvedere ↳ www.bcc.lu

Tax, technology and compliance are on the agenda at the wealth advisory association’s annual regional conference. Speakers include Claude Marx of the regulatory agency CSSF.

ABBL

Compliance hub debate Should Luxembourg have a common “financial regulatory hub”? The Luxembourg Bankers Association and Grant Thornton present a report. For senior execs.

Mon 30 September, 14:00 19 avenue de la Liberté, Luxembourg-Gare ↳ www.abbl.lu

FutureLab & Quantum Advantage

Thu 10-Fri 11 Oct

Quantum computing talk

Le Royal Hotel

Speakers at this executive briefing will explain why “Quantum computing is the next computational gold rush, and it’s coming faster than you think”.

10×6 Entrepreneurship

Fri 4 October, 9:00-12:15 Luxembourg House of Financial Technology ↳ www.lhoft.com

↳ www.step.org Paperjam Club

Ten entrepreneurs will recount some of the “Lessons learned, lessons shared” they’ve picked up along the way. Speakers include Patrick Kersten of Doctena.

Wed 23 October, 18:30 Tramsschapp ↳ club.paperjam.lu

“The essentials of intellectual property” seminar offers guidance on how creative, ICT and healthtech firms can “unlock the potential of your intellectual property”.

Mon 30 September, 9:00-12:00 Hall des Poches à Fonte, Esch-sur-Alzette ↳ www.luxinnovation.lu

Personal tax lunch Laura Foulds of Analie Tax & Consulting provides tips for getting your fiscal house in order at this joint BCC & Amcham luncheon.

Wed 13 November, 12:00

Luxinnovation

IP primer

British & American chambers

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel ↳ www.bcc.lu

Hub Dot Luxembourg

Musical links The women’s networking group will be “Connecting through the power of music”.

Hub Dot attendees use a system of colour-coded dots to strike the right note.

Wed 9 October, 19:00 Coffee Fellows, Place de Paris ↳ www.hubdot.com

Lu-Cix

Luxembourg Internet Days ICT professionals focus on network & cloud security (day 1) and e-commerce & digitalisation (day 2) at this confab. Special focus on France this year.

Tue 12-Wed 13 November Chamber of Commerce, Kirchberg ↳ www.luxembourg-internet-days.com

Find more events Check Delano’s digital agenda for the latest happenings: ↳ www.delano.lu/agenda

Photos → Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne → Mimi Thian on Unsplash → Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for IBM → LaLa La Photo → Anthony Dehez → Jordan Harrison on Unsplash → Mike Zenari

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Collateral management

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The Source A guide to culture and lifestyle

82 Interview

88

94

Curtain up

Special feature

Kids page

Inspiring a new generation

Science Festival

Tom Leick-Burns on an exciting new season at Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg

Profiling local fashion and accessory designers

A preview of November’s event in the Grund

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interview

Theatre

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Curtain up!

A

n actor himself, Tom Leick-Burns says it was important when he was appointed to his role four years ago to send a message to the artistic community: “I see our responsibility very strongly in supporting the local artists.”

The artistic director of Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg adds that it was important to “give space and time to artists to develop their own work”. And so the Talent Lab project began in the 2015/16 season, providing artists guidance in developing a performance. In addition, the Capucins Libre residency is “aimed at companies, independent collectives, who don’t have a space”. As the productions run in the official season, participants benefit from the “whole communication, PR [and technical] support from us, but artistically it’s really under their own steam”.

One “hell of a job”

Artistic director of Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg Tom Leick-Burns shares his thoughts on support for local artists, international opportunities and the exciting 2019/20 season.

words photo

Natalie A. Gerhardstein Mike Zenari

The quality and scale of their self-­produced work has evolved, says Leick, but so has international promotion. “We have more performances and we try, if possible, to find an international aspect of touring or partners [for] our own productions.”

Recent successes include Myriam Muller’s “Breaking the Waves”, which toured in Belgium and France and has been invited to Zagreb in September.

But there are challenges. “We really try to develop our identity as a producing house and establish that more firmly,” he says. Although their own productions have increased, “we’re still adjusting on an organisational level to the resources, skills we need, because it’s a hell of a job.”

Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg employs some 90-odd staff, including stage crew, plus freelancers depending on the project--a “small team”, taking into account the volume of work. This season was, for Leick, “an important moment, when I realised we’ve got it: the talent [and quality are] there. Now we just, as an organisation, have to align ourselves.” “A lot has happened over the last 10 years,” he adds, “…but it’s really our responsibility to have that added benefit and create those international opportunities for our artists.”

2019/20 season highlights

One highlight will be the festive season run of Bill Kenwright’s presentation of “Cabaret”. The show brings together “a starry cast… with Javier de Frutos’ choreography, it’s just one of those iconic pieces.”

This season’s main English theatre production is “Dealing with Clair” by Martin Crimp and directed by Luxembourg’s Anne Simon, whose “Stupid Fucking Bird” last season was acclaimed for its intelligence and humour. →

83

↑ Tom Leick-Burns Artistic director, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg

Theatre

“ It’s really our responsibility to create those international opportunities for our artists.”

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CABARET The Grand Théâtre will transform into the sexually charged, dark world of Weimar Berlin of 1931 when Bill Kenwright presents “Cabaret” over several performances running from end-December until 5 January. ↳ www.theatres.lu

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

“When you see the theatre production, you really get this idea it’s participative… then you see the film version, and it’s really ­astounding.”

Dance, music and more

There’s something for everybody, promises Leick, in the dance season. The programme includes “Enter Achilles”, presented by ballet Rambert and Sadler’s Wells, a work

by Lloyd Newson of the landmark DV8 Physical Theatre company which “in the 90s did some groundbreaking work as far as physical theatre is concerned, really crossing boundaries between theatre, dance--very physical, in your face, tackling highly important issues in theatre”.

Kate Prince and her ZooNation company bring a new project, “Message in a Bottle”, in which 20 performers dance to the music of Sting. Then there’s the ambitious return of the Michael Clark Company with a production that will have its world premiere at the Grand Théâtre.

Music highlights include Verdi’s a­ daptation of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”; “Rusalka”, a co-production with the English ­National Opera; and “The Sleeping Thousand”, co-commissioned with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. And, for those who enjoyed the fresh Luxembourg take on “Rumpelstiltskin” two years ago, check out “Rabonzel” (Rapunzel): “Gast Waltzing is composing the music, so it won’t be Rapunzel the musical, but Rapunzel has a beautiful voice and that’s how it’s reimagined, that she wants to be a pop star,” says Leick. “Music will be a strong element in that.” ×

Photo → Pamela Raith

“Dealing with Clair” tackles themes such as the housing market and speculation, and asks profound moral questions. “What starts out as quite mundane turns into something quite dark, really something with Anne Simon’s usual sense of comedy, but also quirky.”

Also on the agenda: “Told by an Idiot”, the tale of how Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel met and worked in the music hall industry. “It’s very few words, but lots of slapstick, film footage, something for the whole family,” Leick says.

Finally, “one of my favourite things I’ve seen in a long time”, says Leick, is “What if They Went to Moscow?”, in Portuguese with English surtitles. The audience sees the same piece twice: once as a theatrical performance, live-filmed and -edited, and projected into a separate space; and again as a film version. “I wouldn’t say it’s a completely different story in the film, but it’s obviously highly dependent on the point of view, camera angles,” says Leick.

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FASHION, BEAUTY, LEISURE FOOD CONCEPTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

On stage

86

Outstanding musicians of all genres take to the stage in Luxembourg over the next few weeks.

Dance

Akram Khan SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Singer-songwriter

Amanda Palmer

CHOICE Ambient

Nils Frahm

The unique singer-songwriter and often outlandish performer brings her latest album, “There Will Be No Intermission”, to the Conservatoire courtesy of den Atelier. The show features Palmer solo with no band accompaniment and has been described as “a night of graphic, honest, and funny storytelling and songs” that Palmer claims will be her most human and vulnerable stage show to date.

Fresh from his triumphant “Giselle” with the English National Ballet, choreographer and dancer Akram Khan returns to the Grand Théâtre with a solo show.

“XENOS” won Khan an Olivier Award in 2019. Shifting between classical kathak and contemporary dance, the performance draws on archival material about the experience of colonial soldiers in the First World War. 17 & 18 October Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg ↳ www.theatres.lu

27 September Conservatoire, Luxembourg-Merl ↳ www.atelier.lu Rock’n’roll

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Prolific Melbourne seven-piece rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released 14 albums of hard and groovy psychedelia in just nine years. Latest outing “Fishing for Fishies” received mixed reviews-acclaim from Spill Magazine, who said track ‘Nonagon Infinity’ was the band at the top of their game, and admonishment from Pitchfork, who called it “boring”. Live, though, the band is an unqualified riot.

Hailed by The Guardian as “an analogue keyboard ninja”, German composer and musician Nils Frahm is a leading light of the classical crossover genre. He takes an unconventional approach to the keyboards, be it on a grand piano or a Roland Juno-60, to produce music that is at once charmingly accessible, yet also challenging and innovative. Drowned In Sound said Frahm’s last album, “All Melody” was an “extraordinary cross between hypnotic dance and classical music which sounds like neither”. He performed an acclaimed show at the Phil in January 2018.

13 October Rockhal, Esch-Belval ↳ www.rockhal.lu

8 October Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg

words

Duncan Roberts

Photos → Alexander Schneider → Jean Louis Fernandez

↳ www.philharmonie.lu

87

Melusina Pirate Productions take on the legend of the half-human half-water spirit Melusina who suffers a cursed love affair with Count Siegfried, the founder of the city of Luxembourg. In the best tradition of British pantomime, they give the “Melusina” story a fun twist with postmodern references and plenty of silly jokes, song, dance and a cast of colourful characters including villains from foreign lands, witches and ghosts as well as a troupe of female builders.

Singer-songwriter

Shannon Wright

Classical

Paavo Järvi Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi takes the baton to lead the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg in a concert featuring Richard Strauss’s “Symphonic Fragment from Josephs-Legende” and Anton Bruckner’s “8th Symphony”. The latter, often nicknamed “The Apocalyptic”, was the last symphony the Austrian composer completed and was not well received upon its premier in 1891.

25 October Rotondes, Luxembourg-Bonnevoie ↳ www.rotondes.lu Opera

Macbeth

18 October

Singer-songwriter

Photos → Ventre Photos → Jason Maris → Piper Ferguson

Calexico Tex-Mex indie darlings Calexico team up for the first time in 14 years with Iron & Wine to perform songs from their 2005 EP “In the Reins”, along with new collaborative music from this summer’s “Years to Burn” album as well as selections from their respective back catalogues.

Pitchfork says the new album showcases musicians who have managed to “corral swarms of instruments and styles into a newly complex sound”.

6 November den Atelier, Luxembourg-Gare Find more events Check Delano’s digital agenda for the latest happenings: ↳ www.delano.lu/agenda

↳ www.pirateproductions.lu

The American guitarist, pianist and singer-songwriter has been making emotional, intense, iconoclastic music since the late 90s. Bandcamp has labelled her a “musician’s musician” who has worked with legendary names like Steve Albini and pianist Katia Labèque as well as scoring the Guillaume Nicloux film “To the Ends of the World”. She comes to Rotondes on the back of brandnew album “Providence”.

Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg ↳ www.philharmonie.lu

7-10 November Kinneksbond, Mamer

↳ www.atelier.lu

Award-winning German director Michael Thalheimer returns to Verdi for another collaboration between the Théâtres de la Ville and the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen.

Verdi composed an expressive, dense and musically intense score to suit the demonic nature of Shakespeare’s tragedy about the transient nature of power and the forces of violence, terror and paranoia that are unleashed by the protagonist’s political ambition.

8, 10 & 12 November Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg ↳ www.theatres.lu

On stage

Panto

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special feature

Fashion & accessories

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Inspiring a new generation Luxembourg may not have a reputation as a fashion hotspot, but a handful of locally based designers are making waves both at home and on the international stage. Nevertheless, encouraging youngsters to take up design as a career here is a challenge.

Delano catches up with three designers who have a passion for their craft and might inspire the next generation. words

photos

D

id you know that the head of shoe design at Stella McCartney, Sarah Zigrand, lives and works (for the most part) in Luxembourg? Or that a local jewellery designer, Fabienne Belnou, has started selling her unique pieces in South Korea? That the hand-made dresses made by Ezri Kahn, a designer based in the grand duchy, have been worn by Belgian royalty? Or that shoes from Lydia Leu-Sarritzu’s startup vegan brand were sported on the red carpet in Cannes this year? That Luxembourg is now home to the Zoé Muse brand that has an innovative approach to artistic co-labs?

These are just a few examples of the design talents that Luxembourg has nurtured

Duncan Roberts and Natalie Gerhardstein Mike Zenari

and attracted over the years. They share a passion for their craft and for giving clients something unique and memorable to wear. Much of the success abroad these designers enjoy has not quite been harnessed in terms of nation branding. But maybe they could also have a broader impact on diversifying the economy, by inspiring a new generation to take up a career in fashion.

But the grand duchy has not yet moved to introduce fashion design courses into its further education, which surprises Zigrand.

“There are a lot of very creative people in Luxembourg, but they go away [to study] and then come back.” It would make sense to set up some sort of design school in

Luxembourg, “because people have money to buy into design,” she argues.

Over in the old town, Belnou is taking her own initiative by setting up an academy in her own name. It offers individual 4-day courses with master goldsmith Lauro Lichius in creating jewellery (there are 3 levels), gem setting and engraving using a microscope. “It’s something that doesn’t exist in Luxembourg at all, and people have shown interest.” × ↳ www.blanlac.com ↳ www.ezrikahn.com

← Award-winning shoe designer Sarah Zigrand has worked with leading fashion icons

89

Fashion & accessories

TREND TIPS

1

Refined sneakers

Young people have grown up with sneakers as an everyday shoe, and they have even appeared on the red carpet.

Women, thankfully, don’t necessarily want to go back to high heels. But they are also looking for a more refined silhouette and no longer want “sneakers on steroids”.

Hell for leather Sarah Zigrand Shoe design consultant ↳ www.sarahzigrand.com

As her spell as head of shoe design at Stella McCartney comes to an end (she is stepping down to refocus her career), Sarah Zigrand is still passionate about innovative footwear. While engaged by Damir Doma in Paris, Zigrand was headhunted

by McCartney five years ago, despite having some trepidation about working with synthetic materials--McCartney has a strict vegetarian ethic. “Leather is my thing… the craft of shoemaking,” Zigrand says, sitting in her home studio in Limpertsberg. “I saw it as a different challenge. We work with pineapple or coconut

fibres and even mushrooms skins grown under pressure.”

Armed with a masters from the Royal College of Art, Zigrand has twice won the prestigious Manolo Blahnik award and has worked as head of department at Céline and Dries Van Noten. Shoe mania has died down since the heyday of “Sex & The City”, but Zigrand still travels regularly to the Veneto region of Italy which she says is home to the best shoemakers in the world.

She has also noted that all the young people coming through the industry have a sustainability ethic in the way they approach design. “They don’t even think in a different way, it’s incredible.”

Stitching, for example, is an option that reduces reliability on toxic adhesives, she explains. ×

2

Soft casual

People also want what a sneaker does, even if they don’t wear a sneaker.

Ballerinas and soft simple shoes will take part of the market. Men plump for Toms or espadrilles.

3

Unisex

A lot of young people will wear hybrid shoes--men’s shoes for women and much more crossover. Fashion is far less concerned with gender specific shoes.

90

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Design with a clear mind Kimberly Doerfel Founder, Zoé Muse ↳ www.zoemuse-fashion.com @zoemuse.fashion

Kimberly Doerfel started her online shop, Zoé Muse, with just €550.

What began as a project during her fashion management studies in Berlin has now become a full online business, one which Doerfel is hoping to soon scale up.

At the beginning, “I had no clue how to [run] an online shop”, but she quickly had help from her work colleagues and reached out to other artists, many via Instagram, in Slovenia, the UK, Greece--and, of course, Luxembourg. One of her recent collabs includes a range of tops featuring line art by local illustrator Lynn Cosyn. Doerfel prefers iconic, one-of-a-kind pieces--part of her brand appeal.

↑ Kimberly Doerfel, founder of Zoé Muse, says the brand name is a sort of alter-ego for her

Although there have been a few Zoé Muse pop-up shops-the first in Esch-sur-Alzette in 2019, more recently over the summer in Luxembourg City--Doerfel is now hoping to grow her business differently, focusing especially on promotional efforts. She also wants to shift much more into clothing but do so sustainably, working with partners such as Fair Wear Foundation. She says she can vouch for every part of her clothing production cycle and will shift away from jewellery since “I can’t control it as much”.

Inspiration also came from a shopping experience in Greece, where a local shop didn’t have her size, but the shop owner told her the artist was living across the street. Doerfel hopes to work more with local artists in various cities--her dream would be for her site to include a map where her brand is sold in unique, local settings, alongside the work of other local artists.

TREND TIPS

1

Friendly feathers

Doerfel is looking into alternative solutions to this trend, from embroidery to recycled feathers. “I love this trend, but I don’t want to use actual feathers,” she says. “The industry has to find a solution.”

1

Flashy accent hue

“This one is really interesting. You had it in the 1960s with leather, and now it’s coming back.” Think simple, black and white palette, with a single bright green jacket to make the outfit pop.

1

Black & white revamp

Animal prints will be less leopard, more zebra.

Doerfel also predicts Glen check [plaid] will transform from standard browns into more checkerboard-like prints.

ADVERTORIAL

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TREND TIPS

Jewellery with a story Fabienne Belnou Owner and creative designer ↳ www.fabiennebelnou.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

1

Mix it up

Combining several pieces of jewellery and different materials is very fashionable right now. This works because the trend is to create lighter and more delicate jewels with black diamonds, different semi-precious stones and different golds, like this yellow gold, pink opal and Keshi Tahiti pearl earring.

2

Pearls

Pearls from all over the world are very popular again right now, especially with the British and anglophone clients.

Pearls from Japan or Tahiti (pictured here on a rose gold necklace), for example, with which Fabienne creates necklaces often with feng-shui clasps.

3

Unique materials

Fabienne like to use different materials to other jewellers. For instance, she has created jewels using buffalo horn, which is light and affordable, or shark skin from a Korean tannery, mixed with precious metals. Pictured are a pair of silver and lava stone cufflinks.

→ Inspired by art, fashion and nature, Fabienne Belnou has been designing jewellery for over 25 years

Creativity connects everything, says Fabienne Belnou, owner of the jewellery store that bears her name. She says she draws inspiration for her designs from travel, architecture, nature, fashion, floral art and painting.

Having been in the business for 26 years, Fabienne has in-depth knowledge of how jewellery has evolved. She likens it to the development in furniture design. “Contemporary jewellery is more delicate, more airy,” she explains. “I like to create jewellery that has a story or a symbolic meaning, but that isn’t obvious to anyone but the owner.”

One of her hallmarks is a service

that allows clients to give old jewellery a new lease of life.

They bring in an object and, together with Fabienne, they sketch out a new piece with a more contemporary twist.

The sketching table on the showroom floor is the centre of Fabienne’s creative process, while in the downstairs studio goldsmith Lauro Lichius works with meticulous precision to create the pieces from her designs.

Fabienne is also about to launch, with permission of the government, a series of precious metal jewels for men and women based on the symbols of the grand duchy--cufflinks bearing the grand ducal coat of arms, necklace pendants and earrings with the Luxembourg lion are among the collection of 16 different pieces. ×

KEEP CALM AND

GO TO THE NEW

SAUMUR

Kids page

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Get kids into science

Parents are getting their kids interested in science at an early

The biannual Science Festival returns in early November Duncan Roberts

hoping they catch the research bug and carry on their enthusiasm into later years. There are plenty of ways to spark that interest in Luxembourg, but every two years, the Science Festival proves to be a great attraction.

Spread over four days--two reserved for school classes and a weekend open to the public-the Science Festival features shows, exhibitions and scores of workshops. Organised by the Natural History Museum and the National Research Fund, it aims to nurture an interest in the sciences.

The first two days for primary and secondary school classes encourage students to think about studying sciences in further education or even making a career in research.

Fun and informative

ALSO COMING UP

Clowning around

Ciné-concert

Halloween

Camilla Pessi and Simone Fassari, better known as Compagnia Baccalà, present their latest show, “Oh oh”.

Described as an “antic-filled voyage of discovery and transformation”, the show is a refreshing but reverential performance in the tradition of the clown. The performance is wordless and is recommended for the over 9s.

The Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Cinémathèque team up for a special concert screening of the charming Luxembourg coproduced animated film “Ernest et Célestine”. The acclaimed film, featuring a courageous mouse and bumbling elephant, has been described as a parable about the merits of curiosity and the fact that sometimes it is better to find things out for yourself.

The American Women’s Association traditionally hosts a great trick or treat at St. George’s School, while the British Ladies Club heads to the Bambësch on a weekend afternoon before 31 October for a Horrible Halloween party.

Join up to both clubs to get news and advantageous reservations and check out Delano’s online agenda for more details nearer the date.

21 September

5 October

Kinneksbond, Mamer

Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg

↳ www.awcluxembourg.com

↳ www.kinneksbond.lu

↳ www.philharmonie.lu

↳ www.bcl.lu

The public weekend is both fun and informative, with research organisations, science clubs and corporate sponsors all setting up stands that are interactive and will engage young audiences. For instance, researchers from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology will have a booth at the festival at which they will demonstrate their work.

The event takes place down in the Grund, with the Neumünster Abbey and the Natural History Museum hosting experiments and science­themed entertainment.

The organisers have issued a warning that the rue Munster will be closed to traffic during the entirety of the event, so visitors are advised to use public transport. ×

Science Festival 9 & 10 November Neumünster Abbey and Natural History Museum ↳ www.science-festival.lu/en/

Photo → Lala La Photo

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

words

age,

Restaurant review Les Jardins d’Anaïs This 1 Michelin-starred restaurant in Clausen has a lovely setting and ambitious menu. Safe bet to bring any type of contact.

Les Jardins d’Anaïs

Amélys This recently renovated hotel restaurant has a nice vibe, a fab terrace, good value for money, and a great city centre location to meet. ↳ www.restaurant-amelys.lu

Kava The Mediterranean-style restaurant in Bertrange features several dishes prepared in a wood-fired oven. Nice place.

Kava - Restaurant

Elch

Poor service words

Aaron Grunwald

There is nothing less relaxing

Photos → Sven Becker (archives)

than going to a restaurant and hearing the boss shout at his staff. We’ve been to Elch three times over the past three years and it’s happened every time. Repeatedly and throughout the meal. We all have bad days and everyone,

of course, has their own management style, but customers just don’t need to hear it.

And frankly, the young trainee can probably figure out on his own what to do when there’s one plate left to serve and just one diner at the table who doesn’t have their order yet.

Service was mostly chaotic, probably because we were served by six different staffers in rotation. It was lunchtime, and while we appreciate efficiency, that doesn’t extend to the menu being yanked out of our hand after ordering.

Generally, when someone is tasting a freshly opened bottle of wine, you wait for an OK before pouring it into other glasses. There was one server who was super professional, and it was a pleasure to be her customer. We’d mention her name, but we’re afraid that might bring her grief.

In any event, the service was not at the level of the kitchen. We tried three starters.

The salmon ceviche was lightly refreshing; granted it was a hot day, but it could have been served cooler. The chicken terrine was overly traditional, but fine. The carrot and ginger cream soup was bland.

The mains--we had the turbot and a guineafowl cordon bleu with chorizo-were well done and nicely seasoned. The vegetables and mashed potatoes were yummy.

Dessert was perfectly acceptable. Despite the good quality coming out of the kitchen, prices are a bit steep.

The décor is nice. Although it is located next to a very busy road, the terrace is a pleasant spot to dine.

Good wine selection. ×

Delano gives it:

Grevelsbarrière, L-8059 Bertrange 27 44 44 ↳ www.elch.lu

Going out

BUSINESS LUNCHES

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Index

96

A

E

L

S

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

A Designer’s Collective

14

Elch

92

Tom Leick-Burns

82

Sanne 50

David Alexandre

62

Ernster

28

Lëtzebuerger Vëlos Initiativ

13

Mattias Schwaitzer

44

Loïc Ambroise

66

Fernand Ernster

28

Letzshop

36

SEB Fund Services

50

Agnella Serafin

72

Djamila Aouada

9

European Commission against

Apex Group

50

Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)

40

Supervisory Commission (CSSF)

Arendt & Medernach

50

Yves Even

64

Luxembourg Investment Solutions 50

Benoît Schmit

28

EY

64

Luxflag

Nicolas Schmit

3

Margarítis Schinás

3

Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry

Luxembourg Financial Sector

M

Bank of England

50

Renato Baptista

9

F

Manzoku

50

Guy Tabourin

Michel Greco

26

Les Théâtres de la Ville

Corinne Molitor

38

de Luxembourg

82

Nathalie Morgenthaler

38

Ross Thomson

50

Fellner Louvigny

28

88

Fondation Hopale

9

Linda Bos

14

Fundrock

Guylaine Bouquet-Hanus

60

Bram

28

50

Claude Niedner

Christophe Gence

64

Romain Gerson

13

50

Enjie Ghorbel

9

Mark Carney

50

Global Dignity Day

8

Global Shapers Luxembourg

8

Centre pour l’Égalité 11

Chinalux

16

Confédération Luxembourgeoise du Commerce

Grand Théâtre

80

GSK Luxembourg

16

40

Mei Chan

28

Crossroads Capital Management 50

Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services 50 Philippe Herkrath

13

Rob Hirsch

44 58, 60

D Dappin

66

Dialogue Interculturel to collect information

40

Yordanka Dimcheva

44

DLA Piper

62

Kimberly Doerfel

88

Valdis Dombrovskis

I Ina de Visser

13

Innpact

38

Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT)

Giuseppe Tuzze

09

3

K Mathias Keune

72

Jerry Klein

36

50

Osakidetza

9

Margrethe Vestager 8

Post Luxembourg

14

PwC

50

R Olivier Reisch

62

David Rhydderch

50

Roku

11

Viktor Ronkin

28

RTL

66

3 64

9

V Ursula von der Leyen

P

76

U University of Luxembourg

O

Carolina Parisi

H

House of Entrepreneurship

Frans Timmermans

N

G

Carne Group

44

T

Richard Marshall

58

Centre for Ecological Learning

9

28

Fabienne Belnou

C

11

Abd El Rahman Shabayek

Hans Fellner

Tom Baumert

de Traitement (CET)

38

50

B

in Luxembourg (Cell)

50

Vinoteca

3 3 76

W Yi Wang

16

Pierre Weimerskirch

50

René Weise

28

Jacques-Félix Wirtz

66

Woodford Funds

50

World Economic Forum

8

Z Zenview

72

Sarah Zigrand

88

Zoé Muse

88

ONLY FOR CONNOISSEURS...

75 cl

9.99 (13.32/l)

Ronco di Sassi An exceptional wine from Italy, garnet, full and sweet with aromas of blackberries, spices, vanilla and chocolate.

- Montepulciano, Primitivo, Aglianico - Ideal to accompany meat, pasta and cheese courses Serving temperature: 17-18 °C

Luca Maroni

98

Points

ALDI, EVERYDAY AMAZING!

Auntie Eleanor Order, order!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

This month, Delano’s advice columnist answers reader questions on bitcoin payments, workplace heat stress and the Grevenmacher wine queen.

Dear Auntie Eleanor, I noted that popular speaker of the British parliament John Bercow has announced his intention to resign.

That got me thinking. Is the speaker of the Luxembourg parliament as entertainingly vocal as Bercow?

Benny in Boxhorn

Gentle reader, the current incumbent of the post of president of the Chamber of Deputies is former agriculture minister Fernand Etgen.

He was mayor of Feulen, →

SEND IN YOUR QUESTION Want to know something about Luxembourg?

Contact Auntie Eleanor via AuntieEleanor@delano.lu.

Please indicate if Delano can publish your name or if you wish to remain anonymous.

which has a population of just over 2,000. We’ll let you draw your own conclusion on his entertainment value. But the post has been occupied by some notable names. Joseph Bech, for instance, took on the role in 1959 after serving two terms as prime minister, from 1926 to 1937 and again from 1953 to 1958. The longest serving speaker of the chamber was Emile Reuter, whose tenure from 1926 to 1958 was only interrupted by the Nazi occupation. Another →

notable chamber president was Léon Bollendorff (1979-1989), who was interned by the Nazis after the general strike of 1942. But Etgen’s immediate predecessor, the former journalist, Dudelange mayor and health minister Mars di Bartolomeo (2013-2018), was noted for his sense of humour and bubbly personality.

Dear Auntie Eleanor, I read on your esteemed online publication that one of the Big Four firms will accept payment in bitcoin. Since media advertising revenues have been disrupted by the internet, it could also be good for news organisations.

Does Delano magazine use blockchain solutions and when will we be able to pay for a subscription in cryptocurrency?

Colin in Kahler

Gentle reader, I converted my beki notes, Redange’s local currency, into bitcoin back in summer 2018. What a waste of time! The beki was accepted in more places in Luxembourg than bitcoin. At least it’s worth more than the stock I had in sterling. Now that’s a rollercoaster ride worthy of the Schueberfouer! You want to pay for your Delano in bitcoins, sure, why not? As long as the staff still get paid in euros.

As for blockchain solutions, we only require those after eating a dodgy kebab during a team lunch.

Dear Auntie Eleanor, I love the wine festival season in Luxembourg and recently attended the one in Grevenmacher. I couldn’t help but wonder why, in this era of political correctness, there’s only a wine queen and not a king?

Seems a bit unfair.

Conrad in Consdorf

Gentle reader, although I do seem to remember

→

Bacchus making an appearance each year at that festival, you’re correct, I’ve never seen a man crowned. Naturally, I reached out to the president of the festival committee, Carole Clemens, who informed us that only females have submitted their candidacy for the coveted role. She added that “we are absolutely aware of the gender question and would not exclude it at all if this subject was raised in the future.” There you go, Conrad: why not give it a shot next year?

Dear Auntie Eleanor, during the recent heatwaves, our workplace was simply broiling, causing everyone to get stressed. Surely there’s a law!

How hot can it, legally speaking, get in the office?

Oliver in Oberwampach

Gentler reader, to a certain extent, you just have to put up with it. Under Luxembourg’s labour code, when it’s 26°C outside, then there is no maximum temperature inside an office without air conditioning, says Nicolas Duchesne, one of the legal eagles at Martin Lawyers. Even for offices with AC, there are exceptions, such as the office being a few degrees over that 26°C limit during a heatwave or if the AC is awaiting repairs. There’s another part of the labour code that states employees need to report any “danger” to health and safety to their employer immediately, notes Duchesne. But staff need to give the boss a “reasonable” amount of time to solve the problem and you can’t walk off the job. If nothing happens, speak with your staff delegation or trade union, or the labour inspector (ITM) if you’re not represented. Calling a lawyer is a last resort, he says. Now that you know, hope you and your colleagues can chill out. ×

Illustration → Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne

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