Bookstore Filigranes plans move to new Brussels location

The Brussels bookstore Filigranes unveiled a new online shop on Tuesday, at the same time as launching a campaign to encourage readers to return to the store. The management also confirmed that the shop on Avenue des Arts in Etterbeek will be moving to a new location, yet to be determined, next year.

"Come back, Brussels needs Filigranes and Filigranes needs you": that is the slogan sent out by the bookshop to ensure the future of the company, which has undergone two restructuring plans in the space of a year and a half.

Managing director Véronique Croisé said the store was “acting to move forward” in the face of these difficulties, which have been compounded by inflation and the crisis affecting the book market. “We are holding constructive discussions with our suppliers and we are continuing our efforts to ensure the future of an institution that is over 40 years old,” she said.

There have been “significant changes” to the management and financial administration of the business in recent months, about two years after 48 employees filed a collective harassment complaint against founder and former director Marc Filipson, who has since stepped aside to continue as head of editorial policy. The shop has also been redesigned to a smaller size.

In addition, mobility changes around the shop have made access more complicated, Croisé said. “We are therefore planning to move our main shop between 1 January 2025 and March 2026 to a new location in the capital, yet to be determined. We'll stay in the same area, but we'll be more accessible.”
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_{Brussels bookstore Filigranes © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT}