PARIS — Despite a slowdown in luxury spending and an overall volatile retail environment, Parisian department stores are bullish on men’s wear.
Printemps recently opened a 2,690-square-foot concept store space on the ground floor, specializing in men’s accessories, beauty, watches, jewelry and homewares. Galeries Lafayette is preparing for a complete renovation of its four-story men’s clothing building scheduled for 2026.
Alice Feillard, menswear director at Galeries Lafayette, said it’s less a boom for the category than a slow and steady rise following the pandemic.
Fayard said that during the pandemic, “we can see that men have started to follow women’s emotional shopping values.” “We’re now moving from more rational, functional purchases to more emotional, fashionable purchases.”
Men’s habits are changing from a desire for basics like T-shirts and sweaters to more designer-driven creative pieces, formal workwear, statement pieces and an increased interest in sharp silhouettes . Feillard said this change is consistent across categories such as luxury, accessories, contemporary, urban and outdoor.
Copenhagen-based brand Les Deux was almost unknown in France when it opened a pop-up shop at Galeries Lafayette three years ago. We currently have seven shop-in-shop locations in Paris and regional stores. The Galeries Lafayette space generated “seven-figure revenues” last year alone, reflecting changes in shopping, Feillard said.
Eric Obre, head of sales at Les Deux in France, said remote working was playing a role because men “wanted to be a little sharper” when they were outside the home.
“Men are becoming more and more interested in brands. People are now interested in stories as well as products, and I think this is a response to the amount of content out there. It’s an exciting time for the industry, as everyone wants clothes that express who they are and their values, and they find that personality in the worldview of the brands they associate with.” Ta.
Male shoppers are familiar with design terms such as “placket” and “ears,” he added. “They are more aware of how many decisions go into each garment.”
Les Deux is a success story of Galeries Lafayette.
Provided by: Les Deux
Les Deux is one of Galeries Lafayette’s recent standout success stories, but Faillard points out that it is certainly not the only one. French brand Lemaire’s dedicated menswear section was originally scheduled to last six months, but was so popular that it was extended until this spring.
Other indie brands popular with more fashion-conscious male shoppers include Ami, Courrèges and Jacquemus. Rick Owens opened earlier this month, and Ami plans to open an exclusive pop-up there in March. Vintage label Saint Neuf will open a men’s section on January 29th during Men’s Fashion Week.
Skims is another success story. Since opening exclusively at Galeries Lafayette in September, it has quickly become the store’s second-best-selling men’s underwear brand, behind only the powerhouse Calvin Klein. A men’s section is scheduled to open in July.
With the latest renovation, Galeries Lafayette will offer more products from luxury brands and independent designers, as well as expand its footwear department. The more modern presentation appeals to the department store’s changing demographics, as it reduces its reliance on large Chinese tour groups and brings in more American, Middle Eastern and local French shoppers. Ready to do.
Men’s wear now accounts for 15% of sales at Galeries Lafayette’s Boulevard Haussmann flagship store, and the percentage is even higher at 18 stores in the area. According to Faillard, the men’s trend is not limited to Paris. The company has also revamped its men’s wear sections in Bordeaux and Strasbourg.
“We are very strong[in the region]… We know we have the potential to win local and international customers with a more premium offer,” she said.
In the renewal of Galeries Lafayette Paris’ flagship store, everything from the layout and flow lines to the product lineup was changed, and architectural improvements were made, including opening windows on the street side to enhance the sense of luxury and let in more light. Focus on targeted touch. This approach transcends categories such as lifestyle, skin care, and fragrance.
It also focuses on the upscaleization of contemporary brands, including labels such as Casablanca, Officine Generale, Fear of God, Y3, Korean brand System and Solid Homme, as luxury goods growth stagnates. There are also plans to create a multi-brand space in the center of the first floor.
“Right now[luxury]brands are increasing their prices, and they’re becoming very expensive, so we have to rethink different categories,” she says. “We have seen more accessible categories capture more aspirational customers that[luxury brands]have lost. This is definitely an interesting and important opportunity from a category perspective.”
At Galeries Lafayette’s base on the Champs-Elysées, interest in menswear is also on the rise. The store focuses on experimental and emerging brands as well as young shoppers, who have a high percentage of American tourists.
Galeries Lafayette has recently updated its men’s products in its Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg stores with more fashionable premium products, and will continue to expand this category across 18 stores in the region.
The Printemps corner also took advantage of this change. “For a long time, the men’s business was primarily, if not exclusively, about clothing. In recent years, customer behavior has changed, with more men buying beauty products, handbags, objects and small accessories. ” said Karen Vernet, chief merchandising officer at Printemps.
“The growth of luxury goods is very complex for brands in the women’s market, especially right now, and we see that the[women’s]accessories market in particular is a little more mature,” Faillard said. “There is a huge opportunity for growth in the men’s category.”
