Norwegian family-owned watchmaker Urmaker Bjerke has opened Europe’s largest luxury watch house at Eger quarter in Promenaden, Oslo’s Fashion District.
Bjerke House, set over 2,965 sq. m. across three floors, will be home to brands such as Patek Philippe, Cartier, OMEGA, Tudor, Panerai, IWC Schaffhausen, Blancpain, Longines, Hublot and Breitling. The space will also act as the headquarters of Urmaker Bjerke, with six different entrances for the store’s most well-known brands.
Urmaker Bjerke will be Eger quarter’s largest occupier. The wider redevelopment will see the arrival of standalone stores, a restaurant, a lifestyle concept store, and high-quality office space.
In line with the heightened demand for experiential shopping experiences, Bjerke House will feature a dedicated events space on its second floor, as well as in-store workshops and the first physical Bjerke Vintage & Pre-Owned concept store.
The store forms a key part of Promenaden Management’s extensive revamp of Oslo’s Eger shopping gallery, which was originally built in the 1850s. Promenaden Management, which is wholly owned by pan-European real estate investment manager MARK Capital Management, worked with Oslo city’s municipality as part of a meticulous five-year reconstruction project to create a modern luxury retail offering while paying homage to the site’s history.
Annette Lund, CEO, Promenaden Management, said: “The opening of Bjerke House represents another milestone for us as we continue to bolster Promenaden’s status as a world-renowned luxury shopping district. The store, as well as the wider Eger building in which it sits, has been carefully renovated to accommodate both the tastes of modern luxury shoppers as well as Oslo’s architectural and design heritage. In doing so, we were able to attract a world-class talent that brings with it the world’s leading watch manufacturers in Urmaker Bjerke, which has a historic attachment to the city having opened its first store in Oslo 101 years ago.”
Aleksander Bjerke Opsahl, Director of Sales, Urmaker Bjerke, said: “Facilitating good customer experiences has always been a goal for us, and now we have even better conditions for providing personal service and delivering world-class quality. Good customer relationships have been a driving force for Urmaker Bjerke for 101 years, and now we want to take it even further with the opening of the Bjerke House.”
Bjerke House at Eger quarter is the latest capex initiative by MARK Capital Management and Promenaden Management across the Promenaden portfolio, which comprises nearly 90,000 square metres of prime retail and office space in central Oslo.
This includes significant investment into Steen & Strøm (S&S) shopping centre, the world’s oldest continuously running department store and anchor of the Promenaden portfolio, to diversify the store’s product and service offerings, as well as enhance its provision of experience-led shopping experiences. S&S celebrated its best every trading period with sales up 14% in H1 2024.
The District also includes Nedre Slottsgate, known as the ‘Bond Street’ of Oslo. This prestigious street boasts nine of the world’s top ten luxury brands, including Gucci, Hermès, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Saint Laurent, Moncler, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, with Prada set to join in 2025. These iconic names were introduced to the area after Promenaden Management assumed control of the district in 2016.
The Promenaden property portfolio is held in a joint venture between a MARK-advised fund and a Middle Eastern institutional investor.
Justin Johnston-Taki, Senior Vice President, MARK Capital Management, said: “The transformation of Eger shopping gallery is a demonstration of MARK’s ability to create value through the repositioning of heritage assets that were previously home to underperforming retail. When we assumed management of the Promenaden portfolio, Eger was a struggling fashion-led department store. We recognised the underlying strengths of Steen & Strøm, so invested significantly to upgrade the offering there while differentiating Eger by introducing a blend of uses anchored by an innovative concept that is a first-of-its-kind in the Oslo market.”