Printemps New York Debut Delivers French American Style

One Wall Street just got a new tenant with a French accent. The eagerly anticipated opening of Printemps New York, which means spring in the Gallic language, arrived to kick off the new season. To mark the occasion, chairman of the department store group Jean-Marc Bellaiche hosted a VIP event Thursday and ribbon cutting Friday morning co-hosted by Anna Wintour.

At the soirèe, with champagne flowing, Printemps-branded ice sculpture raw bar, and hors d’ouerves hotshot Haitian American chef Grégory Gourdet. Guests perused the breathtaking space designed by French architect Laura Gonzales, who gave the space a modern Art-Nouveau. Forbes.com caught up with Bellaiche prior to the executives hosting duties, including introducing Noah Cyrus, who serenaded the crowd and escorting Parker Posey and Katie Holmes on tours.

Bellaiche noted that the key difference between the Paris flagship and the New York location is its culinary offerings, orchestrated by Gourdet. “It is different, and it’s the same. It’s different because the size is much smaller, but the focus on food is stronger. We have a robust food offering in Paris, but it’s so big. To have five restaurants in the small space is something else,” Bellaiche. Small is relative though as the space measures over 43,000 square feet.

He also noted that the space lacks the brand boutiques. However, there is a dedicated Jacquemus salon for the opening. Typical store aisles are also undetectable. To enter on Broadway and to reach the whole store whose first floor is a series of open displays—such as terrazzo vitrines and podiums to display accessories and scattered clothing racks plus three of the eateries—and tour the whole store is an up and down journey via escalators or elevators. The lobby of New York’s largest commercial-to-residency building conversion sits between the ground level.

“The flow of the consumer journey is completely free. There are no lanes when you enter the salon; we don’t tell you where to go,” Bellaiche continued.

“There are many similarities—the attention to aesthetics, the architecture. Paris is the most beautiful store; this one is even more beautiful, and there is a lot of tribute to Paris here. For example, we brought the fresco by Atelier Roma from France, which Paris inspired. Origami birds are flying in the window by artist Charles Kaisin, who we work with in Paris, too,” he noted.

Judging by the design and culinary offerings alone, the undertaking was nothing less than a Herculean.

“What is tough is that when you open a store in a new country, you open a country. So, you start from scratch with new systems. You form a business too, a new enterprise, warehouse, everything is new. That’s a challenge. The construction was also a big challenge, but overall, it went very smoothly,” he said. In a welcome speech later, Bellaiche called out Jeffrey Yachmetz of Dilmon LLC for the trouble-free build-out.

Midway through the fete, Bellaiche spoke to the crowd from an Art Nouveau-inspired ‘gazebos’. “You all need to know how to pronounce ‘Printemps’; there will be a test later,” the chairman said as he continued to school the crowd.

“We have been reinventing retail since 1865, and this store is no exception. In Paris, we were the first to use electricity and put an elevator in the store. Imagine coming to the store to experience the first time your body is lifted from the ground. We put a ski slope on the rooftop of Printemps Paris before. First to showcase Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs behind our windows. We know what innovation means, and as a start-up of 160 years, we are proud of this,” he continued, uttering that the new store’s tagline is, ‘This is not a department store.’

“This is a French apartment in the heart of NY, where French curation meets American hospitality. In France, we know beauty and art, but we aren’t good at welcoming people; we are aloof and distant, so let’s take the best of American warmth, welcoming, and ‘hello welcome to NY’ approach at Printemps New York where shopping meets culture art experience and food.

Similarly, both Paris and New York have landmark status. “It’s a tough market, and competition is crowded, but there are four reasons we can bring something to the NYC retail scene. One is architecture, such as the one we inherited: the red room made by muralist Hildreth Meière in 1931 [it was originally made for the Irving Trust Company and closed to the public after 9/11] and the architecture that we built with star architect Laura Gonzales,” he said.

“The second is a product you will all buy tomorrow when we officially open at 11 AM. Twenty-five percent are new to New York City or hard to find. The third is restaurants, so I want to thank Grégory Gourdet, our executive chef, for participating in this adventure. The last differentiating factor is the programming. This story will be ever-changing. We’ll have conferences, talks, pop-ups, so stay tuned for more reason to come to Printemps,” he concluded.

The welcoming spirit was undoubtedly the staff of a mosaic of New Yorkers from all generations, each with impressive luxury CVs who were polar opposites of early-Aughts snobbish retail associates—hello Jeffrey’s New York—epitomized in an SNL skit. These eager fashion experts were friendly and knowledgeable, and they even cut a fine rug to the DJ stylings of Francesca Keller, daughter of fashion editor Elissa Santisi, as the party raged past 11 PM.

According to Bellaiche, Printemps defied the New York post-pandemic good retail help dearth. “Well, first, people are proud to work for a gem like this store. This is an extra motivation. We train them on the storytelling this store is full of. We want salespeople to be strong storytellers who know the story of Jules and Augustine Jaluzot and Printemps,” Ballaiche explained.

Storytelling includes thw history of One Wall Street, formerly a bank, the Irving Trust Company, and consists of the store’s piece de resistance, the Red Room, which houses the stores’ women’s shoes. Other highlights are a ‘beauty corridor’ and one room dedicated to impeccable designer and Haute Couture vintage.

According to US CEO Laura Lendrum promised more labels post-opening due to the typical merchandise ship dates in relation to the late March opening. But its heavy on French brands such as Balenciaga, Coperni, Ami and others scarce to find stateside.

Late payments to vendors have become quite commonplace in the US though it’s not a practice brands selling to Printemps New York will endure.”In this way, we will be more French,” Ballaiche assured.

Bellaiche is also confident that the third time is a charm for the beleaguered downtown whose redevelopment plans have been thwarted by 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, and, more recently, the pandemic which saw residents paying five-figure rents flee the city. Today, the area boasts Casa Cipriani, a performing arts center, fashion brands like Altuzarra and the cool crowd over at WSA, another architectural gem, the Beekman Hotel, good schools, green spaces, and Jean Georges Tin Building, however beleaguered it may be.

“We are convinced that this is a neighborhood of tomorrow. It’s up and coming. It’s more and more residential. The people and businesses that were here are different than 15 years ago. Now it’s no just bankers, it’s fashion, it’s tech, it’s media, it’s all here. It’s really a vibrant community and becoming more attractive for any New Yorker.” Judging by the space and its offering, it will be a chic New Yorker.