"I can take a tour of the Fnac in El Triangle using the electronic devices I've owned."

BarcelonaEmpty shelves, empty aisles and a large mural at the entrance: "We moved, but the memories remain. Tell us your story with the Fnac Triangle" It is already a reality: such how the ARA advanced, the iconic Fnac store in the El Triangle shopping center, in Barcelona's Plaça Catalunya, will close its doors this Saturday, July 5th, leaving behind nearly thirty years in which it has been a benchmark for technological and cultural stores, and also a meeting point for everyone. "There have been many memorable Christmases, birthdays, and Sant Jordis, endless memories that we will take with us!" writes one customer. There are also those who describe their experiences: "I met my friends here and this place was my home throughout my adolescence. It was the first to sell merchandise and books by my bands and artists. Many things, but the best thing is the people inside. Farewell, Triangle!" And, just like that, a full board.

Aïda and Anna often came here together when they were younger. They look at the mural and smile; they grab their markers and leave their signatures and a big "thank you." "We're from the CD and poster generation, and for us it was the go-to place to buy them," they explain at the ARA. "But above all, it closes a go-to place to meet up: we didn't say we'd meet up in Plaça Catalunya, we said we'd meet up at the Fnac in El Triangle. It was the meeting point downtown," Aïda notes.

Upstairs, Montse looks at one of the empty shelves. "I wanted a very specific book, and I came here because it's where I always go when I need a very specific book, but today I found it all empty. I didn't know they moved," she says, astonished. Like Montse, many people were surprised when they came in. "It's a shame; I came here a lot during my university days," explains Arnau. "I can take a tour of the Fnac in El Triangle through the electronic devices I've had over the years. The first iPod, the arrival of the first iPhone, that range of digital cameras, the consoles, the games for all the PlayStations. And, of course, the book floor. When I was a student, there wasn't a day when I didn't."

A new stage

For months, the Fnac store in Plaza Catalunya, with a footprint of over 7,000 square meters, had been hanging by a thread. The El Triangle shopping center, which opened in 1998 in the heart of the city center and is owned by the Deka Inmobilien Investment fund, is in the process of rethinking its business model to keep the space "attractive and competitive," which involves merging some spaces. The idea would include gaining street access by building a 1,500-square-meter store with a central aisle for foot traffic. In this remodeled space, the Fnac store doesn't fit.

But the city center will still have a Fnac store. In fact, the chain will open a new store in October at 131 La Rambla, a few meters from El Triangle, in a space measuring approximately 3,000 square meters. A considerably smaller space that will also entail a redesign of its business model. In a statement to ARA last May, the company explained that it is in the midst of a transition to online commerce and is "adapting" its sales channels to customer needs, "which have changed in recent years" and are increasingly relying on e-commerce.