Despite a renovation and a colossal investment of €750 million, La Samaritaine, which reopened in Paris in June 2021 after sixteen years of closure, is still struggling to find its audience. LVMH has taken note of this, reorganized its governance, and rethought its strategy. But the road to profitability remains long.
On June 23, 2021, La Samaritaine reopened its doors on the banks of the Seine. For LVMH, the owner of the premises, it was a historic moment. Closed since 2005 for safety reasons, the former Art Nouveau and Art Deco department store has been reborn in a hybrid form : a temple of luxury, a heritage museum, a selective shopping center, a five-star hotel (the Cheval Blanc Paris), offices… All in an architectural setting that combines heritage restoration and modernity.
The project, one of the longest and most expensive in contemporary Paris, took more than 15 years and cost €750 million. It was an investment commensurate with the ambition : to make La Samaritaine a new beacon of global luxury. The opening was supposed to coincide with the mass return of international tourists in a post-pandemic context.
However, four years later, the results have not lived up to expectations, with structural, commercial, and social difficulties…
A strategy designed for tourists… who weren’t there
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Read also > LVMH reorganizes governance of La Samaritaine and Le Bon Marché
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