Váci utca is Budapest’s most well-known promenade, the elegant Andrássy út boulevard with its cafés, restaurants, stores and the magnificent architecture one of the city’s most attractive shopping miles. Located in the immediate neighbourhood, Király utca is also en route to becoming a “must-go” destination with its furniture and design stores. This is what most tourists want to see. But how and where do Budapest citizens do their shopping? Szilvia Maté, who has already represented Messe Düsseldorf in Hungary with her company BD-Expo Ltd. since 1999, now lets us into this secret.
What does your perfect shopping day look like?
Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time for shopping as I would like to have. So I use my 30 minutes off wherever I am to browse the stores nearby. And if I happen to be in Düsseldorf, then I do this in Düsseldorf, and if it’s on the coast, well then on the coast. This is how I ended up with a gorgeous jacket from Vienna, a handy bag from Shanghai and great sports shoes from Croatia.
Tell us what your favourite store in Budapest is at present and why?
I prefer the shopping malls or the “shopping cities” because if I don’t find what I’m looking for in store No.1 I simply enter the next or next but one.
For several years there has been a very nice shopping mall called “Allee”. This is where I find all my favourite stores such as LUSH where I can buy special hand-crafted soaps, bath salts and creams. Both the store fittings and atmosphere of the store as a whole are unique. It smells great here and this really gets you in the mood for shopping.
What do you buy online, what offline?
I am still part of the generation that prefers physical retail. This means I buy shoes, clothing etc. only in traditional stores but I also avail myself of the benefits of the online world. I buy books, tickets for concerts or theatre performances only online. For our office all the office supplies or mineral water, coffee etc. are only purchased online or we enjoy the privilege of having them delivered right to our office.
Source: Messe Düsseldorf{:}
