Despite a “turbulent” year, sales at French department store group Le Printemps have remained “pretty good” in 2021, Jean-Marc Bellaiche, chairman of the French department store group, reported on Tuesday. The war in Ukraine has so far had little impact on sales.
Given the lack of tourism from Asia, “a clientele that is important”, as he stressed, “we are ahead of the market according to the benchmarks”, said the manager at a press conference presenting the renewal of the brand’s image and identity.
Dynamic “local” clientele
According to Bellaiche, from April 2021 to March 2022, like-for-like sales increased 38 percent compared to 2021, although that represents a 12 percent decrease compared to 2020, the most recent year before the Covid pandemic. Le Printemps explains this resilience with the dynamism of the “local” clientele, the sharp increase in online sales (+31 percent compared to two years ago) and a relative return of foreign clientele, particularly marked in the last quarter of 2021 (+53 percent from the Americas, +23 percent from the Middle East), while Chinese tourists remain absent.
“We benefit from Brexit, especially for Middle Eastern customers who are used to tax-free shopping in London. Many have switched to Le Printemps,” he added. As for sales, the group has not provided any information since spring 2018, when the last financial year ended without the Covid effect. This year the business reached 1.7 billion euros and the group does not expect to reach these values again anytime sooner than “in two to three years”. Jean-Marc Bellaiche also looked to the summer and in particular the impact that the war between Russia and Ukraine could have. “Russian and Ukrainian customers make up around 1.5 percent of our sales. That’s not much,” Bellaiche said.
“But if things get worse, we have no clue. If it jeopardizes intra-European travel or if Americans think coming to Paris will be risky, we would be more affected,” he added. “If the situation stabilizes or the war even ends, tourism outside of Asia should be back to normal. The situation will then be similar to that of the September-December period,” says the manager, who, whatever happens, does not expect a massive return of Asian customers, including those from China, “18 months ago”. (AFP)
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.fr. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ
Image: Le Printemps