Bolstered by a “solid performance” in a “complex environment,” French department store group Galeries Lafayette announced on Wednesday a 260 million euro investment plan through 2030. The aim is to make their Paris flagship on Boulevard Haussmann the “world’s leading department store”.
The traditional company has an international presence and operates 17 of its own and 38 affiliated points of sale in France. In 2025 it achieved sales of 3.1 billion euros. Sales remained stable year-on-year. The reasons for this were the closure of two stores in Marseille and the end of a partnership agreement with SGM, the operator of BHV. However, compared to 2022, according to company management, this corresponds to growth of eleven percent.
Sales of two billion euros
Two-thirds of the business is at Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann. With sales of two billion euros, an increase of four percent year-on-year, the department store has exceeded its pre-crisis level of 2019. Arthur Lemoine, general director of the group, emphasized this at a press conference. This was achieved despite an overall decline in the clothing and footwear market of one percent in 2025.
According to the company, the reason for this achievement is the renovation of the ‘Coupole’ building in recent years for 100 million euros. Strong growth in areas such as beauty and shoes also contributed.
During the health crisis, the department store lost some of its Asian customers and focused more on French consumers. Their share of sales increased from 33 percent in 2019 to 40 percent in 2025. During the same period, the share of Chinese customers fell from 33 percent to 22 percent. The proportion of other nationalities, however, rose by five percentage points to 38 percent.
With 35 million visitors in 2025, the house is the “most visited place in Europe”. It belongs to the top group of department stores along with Harrods in London and Isetan in Tokyo. The goal is first place in the areas of “sales, experience, differentiation and service”. This was explained by Alexandre Liot, deputy general manager of Galeries Lafayette.
The management did not provide any precise information on the distribution of the planned investments of 260 million euros at group level. She only announced that 25 million euros will flow into the renovation of the men’s fashion building on Boulevard Haussmann in 2026 and 2027. A further six million euros are earmarked for the modernization of the Nice store this year.
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