Printemps^[b] is a French luxurydepartment store chain founded in 1865, which focuses on beauty, lifestyle, fashion and accessories. The flagship store "lePrintemps Haussmann"^[c] is located onBoulevard Haussmann in the9th arrondissement ofParis. The holding company Printemps Group has been owned by the Luxembourg-based,Qatari-backed investment fund Divine Investments SA since 2013

Printemps

Exterior of thePrintemps Haussmann flagship store onBoulevard Haussmann inParis (2022)
Industry	Retail
Genre	Department stores
Founded	1865; 160 years ago (1865) inParis,France
Founders	Jules Jaluzot Augustine Jaluzot Jean-Alfred Duclos
Headquarters	Paris, France
Number of locations	20[a]
Areas served	France Qatar United States
Number of employees	3,000 (2022)
Parent	Printemps Group
Website	printemps.com

As of 2024, Printemps operates twenty stores in France (including two in Paris), as well as two international locations inDoha, Qatar andNew York City, United States. The company was a founder of theInternational Association of Department Stores as well as one of its members from 1928 until 1997.^[1][2]

The first Printemps store (now commonly known as "Printemps Haussmann"), was opened on 3 November 1865.^[3] Founded by Jules Jaluzot and Jean-Alfred Duclos,^[4] Jaluzot was previously head of the silk department atAu Bon Marché.^[5] Jaluzots wife Augustine Jaluzot (née Figeac) an actress and member of theComédie Française, financed the stores opening.^[6] The store had a large expansion in 1874 which included the addition ofhydraulic elevators.^[7]

The policies of Printemps revolutionisedretail business practices. The store marked items with set prices and eschewed the haggling based on customer appearance that had previously been standard in retail shopping. Like othergrands magasins (lit. 'big stores',department stores), Printemps used the economies of scale to provide high quality goods at prices that the expandingmiddle class could afford. They also pioneered the idea of discount sales to clear outdated stock, and later the use of window models to display the latest fashions. Printemps was noted for its branding innovations as well, handing out bouquets of violets on the first day of spring and championing the newArt Nouveau style, with its nature inspired motifs.^[8]

In 1881 the store caught on fire causing the entire building to be destroyed, but after the fire the store was rebuilt with the new building designed by architects Jules andPaul Sédille.^[9][4] The store also became the first to use electric lighting with the rebuild and customers were even able to observe thepower station behind a glass wall.

"Comptoirs d'exportation" (export counters) were opened in Yokohama (1887 - Japan), Avricourt (1872 - Alsace-Lorraine) and Tangiers (1891 - Morocco).

The store became one of the first department stores with directmetro access when theMétro was connected in 1904.^[8] In 1905 Jules Jaluzot resigned from his position after causing the near collapse of the business, being accused of embezzling funds and his involvement in a sugar market manipulation scandal.^[3][7] He was succeeded by Gustave Laguionie. Also in 1904 a near collapse of the business led to the resignation of Jules Jaluzot with this he was succeeded by Gustave Laguionie, who announced the construction of a second store in 1905. The second store designed by architect René Binet, the store was opened five years later and dominated by a glass domed hall 42 meters in height and anArt Nouveau staircase which was later removed in 1955. The first store outside of Paris was opened in 1912 inDeauville.^[10]

Pierre Laguionie, the son of Gustave, took the helm of the store in 1920, rebuilding it after another large fire in 1921. In 1923 with the reconstruction of the Haussmann store an elaboratecupola was installed above the main restaurant. Pierre Laguionie was the first president of theInternational Association of Department Stores in from 1928 to 1930, a position he held again in from 1937 to 1938 and 1952 to 1953. Jean Vignéras held the position from 1962 to 1963 and Jean-Jacques Delort was president from 1981 to 1982.^[11]

In 1931, Printemps created the discount chainPrisunic.^[12] In 1939 to avoid the risk of the cupola being destroyed in bombing attacks it was dismantled and stored atClichy.^[13] It was restored in 1973 by the grandson of its original designer, using plans that had been kept in the archives of the family business. In 1975, thefaçade and cupola of the building were registered as historical monuments.

Printemps alongsideÅhlén & Holm, Au Grand Passage (Geneva), Bon Marché (Brussels), Grands MagasinsJelmoli, L'Innovation (Lausanne),Rinascente, S.A.P.A.C. (Printemps purchasing association) andSelfridges founded the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores which they have been a member of since.^[14][15] The figures of theFour Seasons on thefaçade were sculpted by French sculptorHenri Chapu.^[16]

By 1970 there were 23 Printemps locations and 13 Prisunic discount outlets. The oil-price driven French economic crisis of the early 1970s significantly threatened Printemps business model, in response the firm was transformed into a limited corporation with a controlling interest acquired byMaus Fréres, a Swissholding company. During the 1970s Jean-Jacques Delort led the company on a turnaround strategy creating specialty stores and brands (such as Armand Thierry clothing) and branching out into different areas such as food and mail. The Lefroid department store inTours was rebranded to Printemps in 1984.^[17]

In 1991 Printemps and its subsidiaries were acquired byFrançois Pinault and merged with other holdings into Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR, was renamedKering in 2013).^[18][19] That year a store also opened inCascais, Portugal.^[20] In 1994 a store opened inBangkok, Thailand atSeri Center.^[21] In 1995 a location opened inTaipei, the store opened under a franchise agreement and was operated by the Taiwan-based Jieh Enterprises.^[22] Printemps also expanded into China in June 1995 with a six floor store opening onHuaihai Road inShanghai.^[23] Plans were announced for two more Chinese stores to open in 1996 (Dalian,Chengdu) and then a Beijing store in 1997.^[23] Printemps spent $40 million to renovate the flagship Haussmann store in 1997 the renovation redesigned the entire store and also added TV screens and music listening stations around the store whilst also refreshing the brands that the store stocked.^[24]

In 2006 Printemps was sold to the Italian Borletti Group (with equity partnerDeutsche Bank), they then made major investments to revamp stores.^[25][26]

On 16 December 2008, the Paris department storePrintemps Haussmann was evacuated following abomb threat from the terrorist group FRA (Afghan Revolutionary Front). The demining services found five sticks of dynamite in the toilet of the store. The FRA claimed this assassination attempt and demanded the withdrawal of 3,000 French soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.^[27][28]

On 31 July 2013, Divine Investments SA (DiSA) a Luxembourg-based Qatari-backed investment fund bought Printemps^[29][30] On 4 August 2013 labor organisations in France asked the Paris prosecutor's office to open a preliminary inquiry into the sale, in response to a complaint from labour representatives.^[31][32] On 8 August the French court rejected the request to stop the sale.^[33]

On 15 January 2014, Printemps opened its first new store in 32 years at theCarrousel du Louvre shopping mall in Paris.^[34] The store closed in 2023.^[6] The next year a new store opened at Polygone Riviera inCagnes-sur-Mer.^[6]

In 2020 due to theCOVID-19 Pandemic it was announced that four Printemps stores would close (Le Havre,Strasbourg,Metz &Place d'Italie).^[35] An outlet opened at theMcArthurGlen Paris-Giverny mall in mid-2024.^[36] In November 2024 it was revealed that Printemps would be forced to close the Polygone Riviera store with the centres new owners planning on converting it into entertainment park^[6][37]

In the 1930s a store opened inAntananarivo,Madagascar, the store was later converted into a Prisunic. In 1981 the company started an international expansion by franchising stores it started with the opening of a location inKobe, Japan, they continued the expansion a year later opening a store inSapporo.^[38] Magasins Réunis inNancy was rebranded to Printemps in 1983.^[39] Printemps expanded to Singapore with its first store located at the ground floor of the newly builtLe Méridien Hotel onOrchard Road.^[40] Owned by Town & City Properties Ltd,^[41] the store opened on 8 September 1983^[41] and closed on 24 December 1989 with 65 of its staff being retrenched.^[42] A Printemps store opened inJeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1984.^[43]

Printemps expanded to Malaysia under an exclusive 25-year franchise agreement^[44] with Larut Tin Fields Berhad^[45] through its subsidiary City Chemist Holdings.^[44] Its first store atDamansara Jaya,Petaling Jaya^[45] opened on 26 July 1984,^[44][45] with a second store atKuala Lumpur Plaza^[44] set to open in late 1984.^[45] Two more stores opened in Japan in Ginza and Osaka.^[46][47] In 1988 two new locations opened inIstanbul, Turkey andSeoul, South Korea.^[48]

In 2013, the Beijing-basedWangfujing Department Store which was a rival of Printemps in China acquired Printemps China (PCD Stores).^[49][50] In 2017 the last international store closed inGinza, Tokyo and was converted into an extension of the nearby Marronnier Gate department store, the closing of the store ended a period of international expansion around the world.^[51][52][47] Printemps Doha opened in November 2022 atDoha Oasis inDoha, Qatar.^[53][54] The store is the largest department store in the Middle East at over 40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft) and the brands second largest store it includes 14 restaurants and over 200 brands exclusive to the store.^[55] The store is a franchise ran by a company related to Printemps owner Disa.^[6]

The company is currently looking to open a store inAsia and is aiming to have 5-10 new stores by 2030 all of which will be located outside of France.^[56]

Printemps opened its first store in the United States on 6 November 1987, at theBroadway Plaza inDenver,Colorado. The store was approximately 88,000 square metres (950,000 sq ft), and included a French bistro.^[57][58] Business slowed after the first few months, and a shuttle bus operated to transport customers from Downtown Denver. The store closed in April 1989.^[59]

In September 2022, Printemps announced that they would open a two-level 54,000 sq ft (5,000 m²) atOne Wall Street inNew York City.^[60][53][61] The store held a grand opening attended byVogue editor-in-chiefAnna Wintour and Printemps Group president Jean-Marc Bellaiche on 21 March 2025.^[62][63] It was designed by Laura Gonzalez andGregory Gourdet is its culinary director.^[63] The location is designed to be thepied-à-terre to the Paris Haussmann store,^[63] it also contains the landmarked Red Room with mosaics designed byHildreth Meière.^[64][65] TheDeauville branch acted as a testing space for Printemps New York following its 2023 renovation as like the New York store it now contains no leasedstore-within-a-store spaces.^[66][67] At opening, the boudoir department (vintage clothing, evening-wear, couture, fine jewellery) featured an exhibition ofJean Paul Gaultier pieces.^[68][69] The American online store will launch in late 2025.^[63]

A franchise inRatu Plaza,Jakarta which was supposed to open in 1998 was under construction but due to theAsian financial crisis and theMay 1998 riots the store did not open.^[70] In May 2019 plans were announced to open a store inGalleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. It would be 2,500 square metres and would open in 2021,^[71] but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic plans were scrapped.^[72]

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  The Printemps Haussmann with its new façade,c. 1889
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  One of the Printemps Haussmann's frontage mosaics, reading 'Au Printemps' ('At the Printemps')
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  Detail of the cupola above the tearoom of the Printemps Haussmann
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  Printemps Ginza in 2007
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  Liquidation sale at the Strasbourg store

• List of works by Henri Chapu

• Printemps France official website
• Groupe Printemps official website
• Documents and clippings about Printemps in the20th Century Press Archives of theZBW

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