Palacio de Hierro inaugurated a new store in the Torre Mítikah shopping center, which replaces the old unit that was inside Centro Coyoacán, a shopping plaza that will be demolished to integrate the property into the Mítikah condominium complex that, with its 267.3 meters high, it is one of the tallest mixed-use buildings in Latin America.
“It is the beginning of a great time for me”, stated Alejandro Baillères Gual, president of Grupo Bal, during the ribbon cutting of the new Iron Palace in the Mítikah Tower, the first unit of the department store that opens its doors after the death of his father, in February of this year.
In one of the first public appearances since he took the reins of the group of companies, which also includes companies such as GNP and Grupo Peñoles, the businessman highlighted the role of the departmental chain in the country’s economic development.
“Since 1888, over 134 years, the Palacio de Hierro has been the protagonist of the commercial history of our beloved country and this one, in particular, becomes very unique and endearing: the love for Mexico, which our beloved Alberto always showed Baillères, my beloved father, today comes to life in every corner of this store, which I am sure is the best way to honor his legacy”, he said during the opening speech.
A new luxury experience
The new store, which is the anchor department store of the Torre Mítikah shopping center, has a sales floor of 38,000 square meters, 6,000 more than the previous complex. About 1,000 people work in the complex, whose construction required an investment of 140 million dollars.
“Now we are evolving towards this store, always looking to the future and with a lot of investment to renew ourselves and maintain ourselves as the luxury reference in Mexico. It is a legend that is being born today”, said Rafael Arroyo, director of Marketing at Palacio de Hierro, in an interview with Expansión .
The manager acknowledges that there is great nostalgia for the store that closed the curtain, however, he assures that this concept of store-in-store stores, where luxury brands have their own space, is the way to connect with customers, who adds to the experience offered by walking through the five levels of this complex.
Luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Carolina Herrera, Gucci or Givenchy are housed in this store.
With this opening, the departmental company makes it clear that its strategy points towards omnichannel: the combination of physical and digital formats that seek to offer the same shopping experience.
Palacio de Hierro registered a 27% growth in sales in the second quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2019, and closed its turnover at 10,236 million pesos. In the quarter, revenues from the commercial division increased 26.1% compared to 2021 and 32.5% compared to fiscal year 2019, improving pre-pandemic levels.
“bigger and prettier”
The new Palacio de Hierro has design codes that nod to the Coyoacán neighborhood. For example, the perfumery area is inspired by the house of Dolores del Río, the barbershop alludes to Emilio “El Indio” Fernández and the restaurant is a tribute to Miguel Ángel de Quevedo.
There are also familiar phrases by Alberto Baillères González in some places in the complex. “My only merit is my great love for Mexico,” reads the sides of the escalators. Words that the businessman pronounced in 2015, upon receiving the Belisario Domínguez Medal, which the Senate awards to illustrious Mexicans.
There is even a Hello Yellow, a company merchandising area, with iconic phrases from its advertising, such as the famous “I am totally Palacio” .
“The project sought to rejuvenate, restructure and improve an area,” Javier Sordo Madaleno, the architect who was in charge of building the store, told the media. “Everyone on the team has always liked each place to feel part of the community and for the community to feel part of them,” he declared as he left the inauguration event.
For Rafael Arroyo, this new store marks the beginning of an evolution of Palacio de Hierro. “We are evolved with an eye to the future, but deeply rooted in the history of this place. Palacio de Hierro tells stories that join the local society and, in addition to that, we create experiences. It is an important project”, he says.
There are mixed feelings in the atmosphere: people who remember their first job and even their first love in the old store, which closed its doors on September 19, and who are intrigued by the opening of this new unit of the department chain run by Alejandro Baillères Wow.
“For days people have come and gone at all hours. There are other lost ones who ask when it will open (the store) to make the payments they used to make in the one that closed,” says Lupita, a woman who is in charge of taking care of the planters in the new luxury apartment tower. “It feels weird not being in the other building anymore, but it looks like this one is going to be bigger and more beautiful,” he adds.
