How does an icon of Parisian retail reinvent itself for the 21st century and for its regional portfolio, cultivating a reputation for innovation whilst retaining a classic feel?

How do the grandness of a 1912 glass and steel dome and Art Nouveau staircases translate to an alpine town known for its cobbled streets, canals and homes with pastel facades, set against a landscape of snow-capped mountains in the southeast of France?

Working closely with the senior management team, we assisted in writing the architectural brief and facilitating a global starchitecture competition for the redesign of their successful and quintessentially Parisian flagship, the 70,000 m2 store on Boulevard Haussmann. From this we turned to Annecy, creating a brand vision that captures the essence of how Galeries Lafayette does regional while maintaining its Parisian touch. We assisted their team in executing the brand vision throughout the store remodelling, from local features in store design through to customer service and the activities and events programme. This was supported by a series of brand guardianship workshops, including naming, customer journey mapping and ongoing feedback on architectural briefs. The projects presented a model of renewal for the group, moving from traditional one-size-fits-all stores to a portfolio where each store across the country has its own identity and is embedded in the local environment.

“Citynove is regularly working with H:F to study and implement the positioning and strategy of its property assets. H:F offers full strategic and operational advice together with method and creativity. Its international openness as well as its knowledge of key trends in the change of consumer habits have been very useful and particularly appreciated by our teams.”

Eric Costa, President