Up to 70 % discount
The first two new outlets have to open around New Year: an 800 sqm store in outlet center Marques Avenue de la Ségnuinière (Maine-et-Loire) should open before the end of the year and a 1,000 sqm store in Naillout Outlet Village (Haute-Garonne) will follow soon after in 2016. Both outlets will sell brand clothing and accessories from the previous fashion season, with discounts from 30 up to 70 %. The items come from Galeries Lafayette’s three stores in Toulouse, Nantes and Angers.
The luxury retailer has the “ambition to open another three outlet stores in France within the next two years”, bringing the total to 6. Its outlet expansion plans come a year after the launch of its first outlet store in the Parisian suburbs. It was considered so successful that its floor space was quickly doubled to 1,800 sqm.
Outlets are not only a means to optimize its stock. The board also feels it is a “full, complementary product range that meets the specific demand of a customer base that is looking for a bargain”. Galeries Lafayette points towards the growing number of Chinese and American customers that have known the formula for a while. Department stores like Norstrom and Bloomingdale’s already have similar outlets in the United States.
Outlet center One Nation, the location of Galeries Lafayette’s first outlet, opened its doors in 2013 and has about a 100 luxury outlets on a 24,000 sqm location.
