30 March 2006 is a memorable date for gourmets and bargain hunters. That was the day Scandinavian Park in Handewitt finally opened its doors. Ever since, the shopping centre in Flensburg has been spoiling customers both north and south of the Danish-German border with great deals and delicious border goods. But how did the border store come to be called "Scandinavian Park"? We have the answers!
From thought to action - a look back
The idea of opening a border shop in Handewitt was born and quickly convinced everyone involved - but a name was missing. So heads were put together and brainstorming began. The naming was based on our good location close to the A7/E45 motorway, near the border, and our large selection of specialities, border goods and Scandinavian products. Thus, the first suggestions came quickly to the table. For example, names such as "Scandinavian Stop-Over Center" or "First Exit", which refers to the address near the Flensburg/Harrislee motorway exit, were discussed. These were all good ideas, but we weren't quite satisfied yet. We asked for a short, catchy, memorable name. In the end, we agreed to name the shopping centre "Scandinavian Park" - because it just worked really well. As an added bonus, the name was joined by the slogan "One Stop to Shop" and our mascot - Mr Scandi - became a reality.
Scandinavian Park - the name says it all
Nowadays, Scandinavian Park attracts numerous customers from both sides of the Danish-German border on a daily basis: people know that we are much more than just a border shop. As the name suggests, we offer a wide range of well-known products from Scandinavia. At the same time, the park has many more exciting shops as well as a playground, a car wash, a caravan wash and much more.
Yes, "Scandinavian Park" is still a rather long name - but you can easily shorten it. While many of our customers have been using the nickname "ScandiPark" for several years, we have been a little reluctant to do so ourselves. As a sponsor of SG Flensburg-Handewitt, we did use the shorter version of the name on the players' shirts for a while. But as a rule, we have always used the slightly longer version. We're changing that! As you may have noticed, we are already using a good mix of "Scandinavian Park" and "ScandiPark". It's become common parlance among people - and we think it works!
With a C or with a K - which was it?
Incidentally, the Handewitt neighbourhood was also very happy when we set up the border shop. In fact, they were so happy that they decided to change the street names where we are located. When we opened our doors in 2006, we were given the new street signs as a gift: "Skandinavien-Bogen" and "Skandinavien-Damm". Despite the charming little typo, no one is in any doubt where the road leads - directly to the Scandinavian Park border shop.
