Le Printemps opened first new store in 32 years

Former Virgin Store

Its
newest store is 2500 sqm in size, spanning two floors, and mainly focuses on accessories (beauty products, leather products, jewelry and watches) that are geared towards a foreign, financially strong customer base.
It will have an automatic taxfree and if customers so desire, they can get a ‘personal shopper’ or relax at the VIP saloon.

The
newest Le Printemps took over the
location of a former Virgin Store, with the store having been renovated during the last 18
months at the cost of some 25 million euro. Le Carrousel du Louvre, known for its
inverted glass pyramid, opened to the grand public in October 1993 and now serves 17 million customers per year in some forty stores and
restaurants, including Sephora, Swarovski and
Swatch.

Expansion because of new
owners

After
it had kept quiet for 32 years, it is all of a sudden going very fast for the
French luxury group: when a
Qatari fund purchased Le Printemps, it moved up a notch, with another store
planned for May in Les Terrasses du Port
in Marseille and yet another opening in Cagnes-sur-mer (near Nice) next
year.

Le Printemps managed a 2012 turnover of 1.5 billion euro, a 34 %
growth over the past three years.

(Translated by Gary Peeters)