“Christmas is unmissable”: the Odysseum shopping center is ready for the end-of-year celebrations in Montpellier

Le Père Noël est arrivé ce mercredi à Odysseum, la directrice Christelle Garcia était là pour l’accueillir. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Officially, Christmas is in three weeks. But for the merchants, the season has begun. A quick trip to Odysseum for the arrival of Santa Claus.

Rather Polygone or rather Odysseum ? Each client has their own preference. The Polygone remains the unshakeable locomotive of downtown Montpellier, with an annual attendance of 14 million visitors. But the time when the two giants were at loggerheads is over. A generation of female leaders later, the complementarity of the two sites is ideal, a bit like Yin and Yang. For one, the luxury of comfortable and heated alleys with the liveliness and opportunities of the city. On the other, access and parking are made easier by the outskirts and the motorway.

Figures that are easier to display than others

But in both cases, one thing is clear: it is impossible to miss the Christmas period and the four weeks of non-stop opening, including Sundays, that precede the end-of-year festivities. “It is an important month, launched by Black Friday, confirms Christel Garcia, the director of the Odysseum shopping centre. The Christmas decorations and chalets are set up over three nights in mid-November. Two kilometres of garlands and 250,000 LED light points are installed…”

Figures that are easier to display than attendance over the period or, even more so, any precision or percentage of turnover achieved in this single month of the year. On that subject, mum's the word. Competition is perhaps hard to take on.

“Saturday was packed!”

“Saturday was packed!” For this Odysseum shopkeeper, business is going rather well. He doesn't hide it, “It may be the crisis, but people are enjoying themselves, they are consuming. Well, there are some businesses for which it is more complicated than others, ready-to-wear for example, where people buy a lot on the internet. But for the big brands, it remains a great visibility.”

For him, December is important, the best time of the year, “equivalent to a month of August” and its crush of tourists.  And the best is yet to come with the emergence of the Cambacérès district all around the station and a small tram station to bring all these wonderful people to their destination…

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“We pamper our customers”

“We benefit from a very good attractiveness and a strong affluence, smiles the director. We pamper our customers. There is Santa Claus who will be there every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, the 28 chalets of the Christmas market, the magical parades every Saturday at 3pm and 5pm, and gospel concerts: half an hour every Sunday, at every hour of the afternoon: 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm. Christmas is unmissable. We want to create a magical and atypical atmosphere.”

With Santa Claus, the photo is free

An Advent calendar is also in place with €2,000 in vouchers in the shopping centre's shops. But this Wednesday, Children's Day, for his first day on the site, the star is Santa Claus. The little ones, especially the toddlers, came with their mothers, and many with their grandparents, to immortalise the encounter. Some are wary of him, others wave to him as soon as they see him. The tent that shelters his house is nicely decorated. The moment is all the more enjoyable since the photo is free but reserved for holders of the “Odysseum & me” loyalty card. You don't have it ? A QR code and it's immediately on your mobile. And it's a win-win for the shopping centre and its customers. With the smiles of children and all the magic of Christmas.

Florian Peromet and Alex Elami offer homemade creations. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

A chocolate mousse bar “unique in the world”

Alex Elami doesn't beat around the bush, he believes in his concept wholeheartedly. Normal, “It is unique in the world!” 

A chocolate mousse bar that has, for the moment, found refuge in one of the chalets of the Christmas market in the shopping center. The principle is trendy and simple. You choose your base, dark or milk chocolate mousse. You add a topping (dark or milk chocolate, hazelnut praline, raspberry coulis or salted caramel). And you finish with a treat (hazelnut, almond, coconut, caramel, orange, etc.). Count 6 euros for the classic format, 10 euros for the the large format.

“Everything is homemade”

“Everything is homemade, emphasizes Alex Elami. Florian Peromet, my partner and chocolatier, roasts everything himself." And for the raw material, they "work with the big brands (Barry, Valrhona, Weiss) depending on the cocoa that we have selected." 

Here, chocolate bars but also marshmallow bears or spreads, everything is made by Florian. This former chocolate salesman became a chocolatier, having worked for Pierre Hermé, Michalak or in Switzerland to perfect his apprenticeship.

“Sunday afternoon mousse with my grandmother”

But be careful, while he highlights the great research work on the texture of his products or the balance of tastes, the “chocolate mousse is Sunday afternoon mousse with my grandmother grandmother".

The chalet is not an end in itself. Currently in discussions with the shopping center but also with the Polygone and the CCI, they are looking for premises. Objective: to permanently install their shop and lab in Montpellier from January.

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