PARIS — When Printemps was mulling how to revamp its second-biggest department store in France, it took a cue from the neighboring chateau of Versailles.
The three-floor Printemps Parly unit, west of Paris, has received a luxury makeover with parquet floors and molded wall panels — along with a slew of new labels, ranging from Michael Kors and Balenciaga to Armani Collezioni and David Yurman.
Construction on the project, designed by Callison RYA Studio, lasted 22 months and cost a total of 19 million euros, or $24.8 million at current exchange rates.
With 3.5 million visitors a year, Printemps Parly is second in size only to the group’s Paris flagship on Boulevard Haussmann.
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“We are convinced it will be a very strong growth engine for us,” said Printemps chief executive officer Paolo de Cesare, who expects sales at the store to rise by 30 percent over the next two to three years.
The new store look is part of a wide-ranging effort to move Printemps upscale, following its $1.33 billion sale in 2006 by French retail-to-luxury group PPR SA to a consortium that includes the Borletti Group, which owns Italian department store chain La Rinascente.
The renovation of the 116,250-square-foot Parly unit is the latest among the chain’s 17 stores nationwide and follows the unveiling of a new luxury accessories department at the Paris flagship in April.
De Cesare said the company’s three-year transformation plan, launched in 2007, was bearing fruit.
Total sales for the group rose 15.9 percent in the fiscal first half, which runs from April to September 2010, versus a drop of 2.9 percent in the corresponding period last year. The Haussmann store registered a 30 percent sales bump during the period, while sales at other stores in the chain were up 5 percent.
“We are seeing that building a department store with a luxury positioning with the highest levels of service can provide exceptional returns,” de Cesare said.
Though transport strikes in October affected sales at the Haussmann location, revenues were strong in November, he noted.
De Cesare said he expects the group to post a 10 percent to 12 percent sales increase for the 2010 fiscal year (April to March) as a whole, but notes the rise will likely ease to 7 percent to 9 percent the following year.
The Printemps Parly store is expected to benefit from its refit, which has been designed to provide greater clarity, with a large alley running through the center of each floor. A two-floor rotunda has been carved at the entrance to the men’s department, while the central elevator banks are bathed in natural light from a new glass roof.
In addition to men’s wear, the ground floor, whose entrance leads to the adjoining Parly 2 shopping center, contains home furnishings, luggage and an outpost of Versailles caterer Bigot.
The first floor, which opens onto an outside car park, is home to beauty, jewelry and watches, shoes, handbags and an exclusive Pierre Herme corner selling macaroons and chocolates. The second floor features women’s wear and lingerie, as well as a VIP space for premium cardholders. The store also offers free personal shopping and a watch-repair service.
Next up for Printemps is the renovation of three floors of women’s wear at Boulevard Haussmann, due to begin next year, and a total revamp of the Strasbourg store, which de Cesare promises will transform the building into “the Guggenheim of Strasbourg.”