Moodie Davitt Spotlight Series eZine: Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf by DFS

FRANCE. Welcome to an especially memorable edition of The Moodie Davitt Spotlight Series, one that celebrates what surely ranks as the most ambitious store opening of this or any other year in travel retail history.

When French President Emmanuel Macron and LVMH Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Arnault pulled back the richly textured blue cloth covering the inauguration plaque for La Samaritaine amid tumultuous applause on 21 June they were doing far more than simply inaugurating a store.

Click on the image to open the Samaritaine Spotlight eZine

In fact, they were marking the rebirth of a revered Parisian institution, a store – shuttered since 2005 first for safety and then for restoration reasons – that had held a special place in the hearts of the French capital’s citizens since 1870, when Ernest Cognacq and his wife Marie-Louise Jaÿ opened a shop on the corner of Rue du Pont-Neuf and Rue de La Monnaie.

From its early days La Samaritaine was far more than a store. In 1883 Cognacq met Belgian architect Frantz Jourdain, a pioneer of the Art Nouveau movement and iron-frame architecture. Jourdain reimagined the store interiors to wondrous effect, his genius later complemented by that of a fellow architect Henri Sauvage, who extended the building in Art Deco style towards the nearby Seine river. Jourdain later designed the majestic new extensions on Rue de Rivoli. From that point and until its closure La Samaritaine was emblematic of the heart and soul of Paris.

Comprehending that historical context is critical to understanding both the reborn La Samaritaine and DFS Group’s role within it. LVMH and DFS opted to design and curate Samaritaine’s rebirth, by simultaneously embodying the founders’ adventurous spirit with equally daring modernity, both in terms of architecture and the shopping and dining offer.

In a compelling interview, DFS Group Chairman & CEO Benjamin Vuchot describes the store as “an incredible turning point” for DFS, one that allows the travel retailer to showcase its savoir faire of being a trusted companion for the luxury traveller and to create “a destination within a destination”.

Come judge for yourself based on the words and sumptuous images in this special publication. ‘Destination DFS’, a phrase originally coined by DFS co-founder Robert (‘Bob’) Miller – still a committed shareholder at 88 years of age – has never been a more thrilling place to visit.

Martin Moodie, Founder & Chairman, The Moodie Davitt Report

The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor & Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Tan-Gillies was on location at Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf by DFS and recorded this short video, taken on 29 October 2021, that captures the drama and the buzz of the landmark store

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