Luxury goods groups LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) has reopened the iconic 150-year-old La Samaritaine department store after 16 years, following an $890 million refurbishment.

The building, which was once an essential visit for anyone visiting Paris, underwent a seven-year makeover and has reopened to the public, now kitted out with a hotel, restaurants and shops. 

The grand reopening of the multi-storey complex was, of course, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic but there is hope that spending on luxury goods will rocket when travel curbs are eased.

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Spending by visitors to France remains a major source of income for high-end brands. Chinese shoppers are the luxury sector's number one clientele. However, due to the pandemic there has been a consumer shift towards spending more at home – a move expected to outlast the current health crisis. 

LVMH, best known for its luxury subsidiaries Louis Vuitton, Celine and Dior, makes 8 percent of its $53 billion sales in France and already owns upmarket Parisian department store Le Bon Marche. La Samaritaine is situated on the banks of the Seine, close to tourist favorites such as Notre-Dame cathedral and the Louvre museum, which LVMH hopes will help it attract visitors from across the globe. 

As traditional-style department stores face increasing competition from online retailers, many have sought to reinvent themselves as day-trip hotspots even before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many have not survived, with several in the U.S. filing for bankruptcy. 

Reopening at a time when life seems to be returning to some sense of normality and consumers have money saved up from life in lockdown, Benjamin Vuchot, the chairman and CEO of DFS group (Duty Free Shoppers), a retail and duty-free company majority owned by LVMH, which runs the famous department store, says the company is prepared for the world to be split into two big travel bubbles: China and Europe. 

So why reopen a department store in the middle of a pandemic? 

"The new lifting of quarantine, the lifting of travel bans from America, particularly into Europe, and the fact that, you know, Europeans can travel freely in almost every country now without having too many constraints and the passports for vaccinations, I think, is a great opportunity for us to also cater to this customer," says Vuchot. 

"When it comes to the outlook, I think that international traveling will probably resume to a normalcy by the second quarter of 2022. And all our teams are gearing up for that."

La Samaritaine does not disappoint. Known for its distinctive 1920s-era architecture and gilded Art Deco facade, the revamped store with a glass ceiling and Eiffel structure includes a 100-meter airport-style moving walkway through a tunnel to nearby parking, designed as a place for (high-end) living and strolling from early morning until late at night. 

The novel shopping experience aims to have something for everyone, targeting Parisians, international customers and younger consumers all at once with endless bars and restaurants, spas and boutiques. Alipay and WeChat are also possible payment methods at all pay points across the store. 

"We have a unique assortment of luxury goods, but we also have the largest beauty hall in Europe," says Vuchot. 

"As you know, beauty and cosmetics offer a wider range of prices and we have those experiences with food and beverages. So, you know, une epicerie from La Maison Plisson, a juice bar – an amazing assortment catering to the millennial customers and this is in the newly renovated part of the Building on Rue de Rivoli."

The public health situation in France has dramatically improved in recent weeks. Face masks are no longer mandatory outside and the vaccination program is progressing steadily, with nearly half of the population having received their first shot. Department stores across the country were also able to reopen from May 19. 

While La Samaritaine faces a tough first few months as tourists still have not returned to Paris, Vuchot remains optimistic. 

"We hope that, of course, with the assortment, we will be able to rekindle with what consumers in Paris, the Parisians, used to enjoy back in the day when they were shopping in La Samaritaine and finding all sorts of things in this amazing store. And we want to also be generous in that sense and be inclusive as much as we can to creating this unique environment for those shoppers to come back to La Samaritaine."