In May 2017, Kungsgatan in Eskilstuna was full of visitors, shops, and restaurants, according to Google Street View. By February 2026, several premises along the street are empty. ' He likes the new stores that have appeared but would like to see new tenants avoid paying rent to fill empty premises.
' Christina Blomberg, a city development strategist at Eskilstuna Municipality, says there are many reasons why Eskilstuna's city center is full of empty shops. A major factor is e-commerce, with a paradigm shift moving much shopping online. 'Retail has undergone a paradigm shift where much moves online, and there we get global competition.
Now the stores are moving away from here, and they take others and the visitors with them too.
Sweden is flooded with cheap goods from China, it harms physical retail,' Blomberg stated. Another explanation is that city centers are not built solely to benefit retail, unlike external shopping areas. Eskilstuna stands out with more empty premises due to a long period of insufficient cooperation, with several galleries seeing each other as competitors, weakening the shopping area.
The same issue is occurring today when tenants move from Gallerian to 21:an, but Blomberg notes, 'Yes, it is. ' She is optimistic about the future, believing Eskilstuna residents will get a more vibrant center already this year. 'We have actors who want to develop, and we see that there is an interest in physical stores.
Now I park for two hours and it costs 66 kronor.
There is a courage in this city, and a damn determination,' Blomberg added. At a conference, it was discussed that young people miss using their senses when shopping. 'They want to feel, smell, things you cannot do online,' Blomberg said.
The specific measures being taken by Eskilstuna Municipality to fill the empty shops and revitalize the city center are not detailed. The timeline and impact of the move of tenants from Gallerian to 21:an on the local retail environment also remain unclear. Blomberg's optimism is based on ongoing investments and interest in physical retail.