1974 saw the company open its first shopping mall, the Belle Etoile in Bertrange, on the main road (subsequently complemented by a parallel motorway) linking Luxembourg and Belgium.

The project initially came in LUF 100 million over budget which threatened prematurely to end it, but the developers were persuaded to accept a lower price which enabled the Belle Etoile to be saved.

Ten years later, in 1989, the Inn restaurant was opened at the flagship Belle Etoile shopping mall, and in the 1990s the company expanded into DIY and home improvement retailing, opening major DIY stores in Howald, Diekirch and Esch called « Cactus Hobby » In 2001 Paul Leesch retired from the top job and was succeeded by his son, Max Leesch.

[3] In the same year, it was the country's second largest free sector employer, with 3,950 on the payroll, exceeded in this respect only by Arcelor-Mittal.

In 2008, a number of smaller local Cactus Shoppi were opened, first in connection with filling stations, then in the following years also on independent sites.