Netherlands' first Hudson's Bay opens in Amsterdam

After a few delays, the Netherlands first Hudson's Bay opened its doors on the Rokin in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning. A significant crowd gathered in front of the store for the opening at 10:00 a.m., most lured by the promise of free goodie bags, Het Parool reports.

Most of the people Het Parool spoke to have high expectations for Hudson's Bay's products. Many hoped the Canadian store will fill the gap the Bijenkorf left when it closed. "I'm curious about what they have here. I've heard that it's less expensive stuff, so it's nice if you have a little less to spend. Myself, I'm really crazy about expensive things", 60-year-old Corrie van Moorsel from Vinkeveen said to the newspaper.

"I hope to find things that disappeared along with the Bijenkorf", Sander Kiesel, 60, said to the newspaper. "Such as appliances and delicacies. And I've read that they're selling 3D bluray devices. That would be fantastic, because they are scarce in other stores."

17-year-old Sara Sulaiman quickly found her way to the clothing racks. "I think it's a very nice shop, it's cheaper than the Bijenkorf. The building is also very nice, very American."

The opening of Hudson's Bay coincides with the opening of the Netherlands' first "power nap station" - an initiative of Dutch mattress startup Matt Sleeps. The first power nap station will be located at Hudson's Bay between September 5th and 17th. The power nap station is a glass house with a large bed and various soothing elements like plants, dimmable lights and pillows, where tired shoppers can take a quick nap or relax before getting on with their day, according to the initiators.

"We want to make people realize that you can do so much more on a mattress than just sleeping. For example, it is also amazing to relax on a mattress during a day of shopping", Matt Sleeps founder Joep Verbunt said in a press release. "Previously we also showed that processing a hangover can go very well in a bed during the world's first Hangover Bar, or you can speed date in bed during our Bed Dates."