The simultaneous appearance of bright bold-lettered signs decorating every store front in Paris, threatening even the most self-disciplined fashionista’s carefully-planned budget with their announcements of soldes (sales), is not just a coincidence. In France, the central government regulates the country’s sale seasons, organizing bi-annual periods during which retailers offer gradually increasing discounts to sell off any remaining end-of-season stock. As I just happened to arrive during France’s winter sale season, this year occurring from January 15 to February 15, I decided to make a trip to the Printemps flagship store on the Boulevard Haussman, one of France’s most well-established grand magasins (department stores), to experience first-hand this infamous economic ritual that attracts shoppers from all over the world and even compels some Parisians to take the day off of work to forage through the sales racks.
Oh, to be sure, I admired the store’s iconic domes and beautiful spires, stood in awe at the sheer size of the entire complex, and gave due appreciation to the detailed and elaborate displays. Yet, it was an announcement made over the PA system, beginning with an all-too-familiar greeting of “欢迎光临!” and delivered in an impeccable accent worthy of CCTV (Mainland China’s official television network), that nearly made me do a double-take to confirm that I was not actually wandering around Shanghai’s Nanjing Lu. Although this Chinese phrase, often used to politely greet customers, may mean nothing to French shoppers, it serves a similar purpose as do the impeccably coiffed, uniformed, and made-up 20-something salespeople of Asian heritage staffed in the boutiques of Lanvin, Louboutin, and every designer in between, the red and gold advertisements in Chinese lining the tunnels of escalators wishing shoppers a Happy New Year, not to mention the accompanying staff members dressed in the most kitschy “traditional” Chinese costumes and wandering the sales floor to pass out cheap Chinese candy to shoppers.
The blatant (and sometimes cringe-worthy) marketing efforts have certainly proved to be successful, as evidenced by the crowds of Asian tourists queued up in lines outside designer boutiques while others toted armfuls of huge glossy shopping bags out to the waiting tour buses. Indeed, the luxury industry has never made secret their interest in the Asian market, given the number of recent announcements of expansion, notable among them the Galeries Lafayette’s plan to not only return to Beijing in 2013, but also to open up to 15 stores throughout China in 5 years. Consumption trends in Asia, such as the popularization of “shopping tour groups,” indicate very profitable markets, but ones that will challenge businesses to alter their strategies to assimilate into their new environment, as Armani Group understood when it launched its China e-commerce site only 3 months ago.
Yet, from my observations of the Printemps, I was truly surprised to discover that the “Asia trend” has also influenced its domestic image, especially in its famous flagship store here in Paris. I could not help but wonder what is the French opinion on the increasing commercialization and mutation into a tourist hotspot of the Printemps, which is as much of an iconic institution in French culture and fashion as its peers the Galeries Lafayette and le Bon Marché. The history of commerce in France reflects a very protective attitude by the French towards their businesses that they believe contribute to their national identity; indeed, Le Figaro journalist Marie Visot dubbed it “economic patriotism” in her piece on state intervention in businesses, entitled Entreprises: Une Affaire d’État (Group Eyrolles, 2010). Cases such as pharmaceutics company Sanofis-Synthélabo’s state-encouraged take-over bid for Adventis to prevent it from merging with a Swiss company, and luxury giant LVMH’s claims of ensuring the long-term survival of French creativity and culture as justification for its unexpected stake acquisition of Hermès, all reflect an importance placed on the affirmation and continuation of businesses’ French heritage. Given that the luxury industry has predicted its future growth in Asia, I am interested to see how the Printemps, as well as other French businesses, will maintain their brand’s distinct creativity and identity while appealing to new consumers from an entirely different culture.
