Printemps is expanding to the US with its first store set to open in New York.
The luxury French department store chain will open the doors to the site at One Wall Street in Manhattan’s Financial District on Friday 21 March.
Spanning two floors of a 50-story Art Deco building, the 55,000sqft Printemps will feature fashion, beauty and a number of locations for eating and drinking.
The “Salle de Bain” will house a beauty and spa area offering facials, head massages, manicures and blow drys, with Guerlain products.
The “Beauty Corridor” connecting the older part of the building with a newer annex will feature a number of French pharmacy brands available in the US for the first time, such as La Rosée and Cottan, New York Magazine reports.
But there will be no branded beauty counters like those typically found at other US department stores.
French interior designer Laura Gonzalez designed the space with different looks for each area, creating a bathroom-style green tiled aesthetic for the beauty room with a nod to its Art Deco history.
Laura Lendrum was named Printemps America CEO in 2022 when the chain first announced plans for a US launch.
She told Fast Company the space is designed to be flexible so it is able to “convert areas into brand pop-ups, cooking classes, book readings [and] whatever is interesting to the community”.
Printemps, which was founded in Paris in 1865, has 19 locations in France and one international store in Doha that opened in 2022.
It also operates nine stores under the Citadium name aimed at youngsters aged 15 to 25.
In 2020 the retailer was forced to close seven stores with 400 job losses due to the pandemic.
Jean-Marc Bellaiche was named CEO of Printemps Groupe the same year.
Speaking when plans for the US expansion were first announced, he said: “The US is essential in our international development strategy and opening in New York offers high visibility and growth potential.
“We think we can bring something unique, both to its engaged local consumer base and the strong tourist flows the city welcomes.
“It is also a strategic ecommerce market for luxury, fashion, home and beauty.
“We plan to pioneer a new format of experiential retail in this fast changing and demanding market.”