Parts of Paris have landed in New York City.
French luxury retailer Printemps officially opened its first US store this week in the city’s financial district. The retailer celebrated the opening on Friday. This coincided with the beginning of spring.
The 55,000-square-foot store spans upstairs and features a wide range of products including clothing, shoes, handbags and makeup. About 25% of the brands are not available or uncommon in the US, such as the Joseph Duclos brand, according to Printemps CEO Jean-Marc Bellaiche.
In an interview with CNBC, Bellaiche said the retailer aims to stand out from other high-class players with eye-catching architecture in the store. A unique mix of popular luxury brands and hard-to-find French brands. Programming and services including beauty and spa treatments and clothing and accessories repairs.
The Printemps Group was founded in 1865 and operates 20 department stores in France. Compared to French stores, US locations have experiential bends, with spinning displays of products similar to pop-up shops and food concepts, such as restaurants and cafes with French pastries. Its playful design is inspired by a Parisian apartment and is located on One Wall Street, a historic Art Deco skyscraper.
For example, one of the highlights of the Printemps store is Red Room. The Art Deco style room was finished in 1931, decorated floor-to-ceiling with red and gold mosaics by Hilldres Mayere, a master mural. Previously it was the reception room and bank hall for Irving Trust and banking companies, and was designated an interior landmark by the New York City Landmarks Protection Board.
Printemps restores the room and turns it into a “shoe forest,” allowing shoppers to browse footwear and order wine at nearby bars.
The restaurant also includes Maison Passerrell, a luxury restaurant piloted by Gregory Gardett, a two-time top chef finalist and three-time James Beard Award winner. It will open in April.
Printemps has opened stores in the US as luxury spending slows around the world. Even some wealthy consumers have pulled back discretionary purchases due to inflation and economic uncertainty. In China, the main market for high-end products, luxury spending has not returned to its pre-level.
A report from consulting firm Kearney last month shows that global luxury industry sales are projected to increase by 1% to 3% each year through 2027. The report attributed it to economic uncertainty driven by lower demand among Chinese consumers, inflationary pressure on the US, and trade disruptions and policy changes by the Trump administration.
According to a Kearney report, this is a significant change from 2020 to 2021. Global luxury spending on products and services overall was estimated at $500 billion in 2024.
Still, Brian Ehrig, one of the authors of the report and partner in Kearney’s consumer practice, said the US remains an attractive market for luxury brands because of consumer resilience.
“If you look at the major economies on a relative basis, there are the healthiest economies,” he said. “And the other thing is, Americans love shopping.”
Ehrig added that other luxury retailers are doubling their investments in large, eye-catching physical stores. LVMH-OUND Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton have opened a new store in New York City. He said face-to-face experience is more important in sectors where items have high price tags and expectations for personal service.
“There’s something special about being in a luxury retailer, about how you’re caring for them, about being made to feel like a VIP when you’re there,” he said. “And there’s no way to do that online or on your iPhone.”
Other internationally based retailers with lower prices have also expanded and opened more stores in the US, including Ireland-based Primark and Spain-based Mango.
In the case of Printemps, the US opportunity became clear, especially as more Americans came to Paris to visit the shops, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic, Bellaiche said. When it comes to sales, the Americans are the third-largest spender of Printemps after the French and Chinese, he added. But Americans are closing the gap, he said, with sales to American customers tripling since 2019 and 2024.
Printemps America CEO Laura Lendrum said even in a gorgeous focus the store is mixing more familiar items for tourists and ambitious shoppers who might stop by to drink coffee or browse the $50 gift.
This is the exterior of the store:
