PARIS — Printemps unveiled details Thursday on its first overseas store, set to open in September in Qatar’s Doha Oasis complex, which include a hotel, theme park, residences and entertainment facilities, including a cinema.
The French department store chain described the concept for this retail outpost located in the cultural and tourist historical center of the Qatari capital as a “new generation [space] that would blend a physical immersive experience and new technologies,” designed by architecture firm Yabu Pushelberg.
At 323,000 square feet spread over three floors, it will be the second-largest door for the retailer, after the Parisian flagship on Boulevard Haussmann. It will be home to some 550 brands, with 30 percent of the offering earmarked as exclusives.
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The mix will include luxury heavyweights like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci and Valentino; designers Dries van Noten and Jill Sander; as well as buzzy labels like Coperni and Ganni. Raf Simons and JW Anderson are slated to be among the exclusives, as are high-end bag label L’étrange and jeweler Lorenz Bäumer.
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In addition to physical retail, Printemps’ e-commerce platform will be open to Qatar-based consumers, who will also be able to shop and preorder the selection of the Doha store as well as the Haussmann flagship.
Other services will include bespoke services, product customizations by artists and personal shoppers based in the Qatari and French capitals.
Announced in 2019 by then-chief executive officer Paolo De Cesare as part of an ambitious strategy to transform the French retailer into “leading global omnichannel luxury and lifestyle player,” the Doha store is the latest project to be unveiled under the tenure of Jean-Marc Bellaiche, who arrived at Printemps’ helm in October 2020, with a road map of broadening its local customer base, bulking up omnichannel services and offering more exclusive products.
Significant investments on the digital front were unveiled by the company, who earmarked more than 40 million euros a year for this area over the next few years.
Recent developments have included livestream shopping, the extension of its Printania loyalty program to overseas customers, and the opening of a circular fashion floor on the seventh floor of the Haussmann flagship. A new visual identity and brand platform are planned for March.
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