What: Jean-Marc Bellaiche details Printemps’ new strategy.

What is important: Le Printemps wants to reassess connection with tourists, especially those from China.

“Right now, the equivalent of 85% of our revenue is not operational. I’m convinced people do love physical retail and department stores. In December, and in January-February for the stores that were open, we recorded sales increases of over 50%, in some cases even doubling the previous years’ figures. Department stores, with their huge spaces, will continue to exist, but they need to transform themselves,” Jean-Marc Bellaiche said.

Le Printemps group operates 19 department store branches, the Le Printemps website, eight Citadium stores and the Place des Tendances and Made in Design websites. In the 2018-19 financial year, the group recorded a revenue of EUR 1.7 billion.

Start-up-style management techniques

On day one, in typical start-up fashion, Ballaiche set up a video-conference to which all employees were invited, something which has now become a ritual. Gradually, Bellaiche has also brought more women and younger faces into the executive committee. “My goal is for every member of the Le Printemps staff, to feel like an entrepreneur,” he said.

Despite the new approach, the issue of the store closure plan remains. But the group announced this week that encouraging sales figures along with lower rents will allow Citadium to keep 3 stores that were supposed to close.

According to the plan, the group’s remaining branches will reposition on the market within the next three to five years, with Le Printemps investing EUR 40 million to EUR 50 million annually. At the same time, store renovations will continue. Outside France, the group has put the planned Milan opening on hold but has stepped up the pace for the one in Qatar to open in 2022 ahead of the World Cup.

Recapturing the wow factor

On the clientèle side, Bellaiche is keen to reassess Le Printemps’s connection with tourists, especially those from China. “Chinese consumers are driving the luxury industry as they will soon account for 50% of the market,” he said. He wants to offer new services to these consumers, notably by forging new relationships with tour guides and operators.

As for Le Printemps’s French clientele, the goal is to appeal to younger consumers, tapping Citadium’s expertise. The group is also keen to strengthen its position in menswear, the leading category in some branches outside Paris, and attract more families. To make progress in this direction, Le Printemps has started to redefine the values that constitute its brand identity, working on themes like inclusivity and sustainability.

To attract these consumers, “we must recapture the wow factor. We must think ‘surprises’ again. This is why I’m planning to mix up the various departments’ approach,” said Bellaiche. The boundaries between home decoration, food, beauty and apparel will therefore become more fluid. The Made in Design range will be deployed more extensively at Le Printemps branches in 2021. The new strategy will also enable sporting and high-tech goods to be featured. Bellaiche also wants Le Printemps to open up to a greater number of small fashion and beauty brands.

The omnichannel challenge

Now that e-tail is booming, Le Printemps’s biggest battle will be fought on digital with an effort that includes modernising the group’s IT and technology platforms and its supply chain. “Printemps.com must mirror the range in our physical stores. It will then become a useful tool enabling shop assistants to boost the range they can offer to their customers, and generate additional sales” said Bellaiche.

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