New Printemps CEO Rémy Baume insists department store model is 'not in crisis'

Rémy Baume, the new chief executive officer of the Printemps Group, which is currently undergoing a major reorganisation, insists that the department store is “not a model in crisis”, even if it remains “complex”. Having joined in June, he aims to make Printemps the benchmark for “customer welcome and hospitality”, he said in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Formerly CEO of Zadig&Voltaire, the executive in his fifties previously worked at LVMH/Groupe Arnault and Carrefour before joining Printemps during a challenging period. In April, the French retailer, founded in 1865, announced plans to cut staff and close its store in Rennes to refocus on its “fundamentals”, particularly in the face of competition from ultra-fast fashion and second-hand fashion.

The agreement subsequently signed with two unions, Unsa and CFE-CGC, outlines 222 job cuts out of 3,000, alongside 93 newly created roles and 17 contract modifications. The Rennes store, located in a shopping centre that management deems “incompatible” with a high-end “positioning”, will close its doors in February.

“We want to get closer to the sales teams and have fewer management layers,” explained Baume. He succeeds Jean-Marc Bellaiche, who left the group last year; the company was acquired in 2013 by Qatari shareholders through the Disa fund.

His strategy for 2030 rests on three pillars: a more fluid and “de-siloed” organisation, an acceleration in artificial intelligence, and above all, an enhanced focus on customer welcome and hospitality.

“We sell expensive products, so the experience truly has to match that standard,” insisted Baume. He noted that the retailer already offers “many services”, including spas, dining, personal shopping and alterations.

The department store is a model that can thrive if managed with “finesse”, believes Baume, who refuses to blame the sector's difficulties on fast fashion and cites the “double-digit growth” of US retailer Bloomingdale's as an example.

“More intimate setting”

Printemps claims two and a half million annual shoppers across its network. It “does not target one specific clientele over another”, assured Baume. However, he conceded that its direction “may hold greater appeal” for those “who appreciate comfort and the utmost discretion”.

Spanning 44,000 square metres, its flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris is, in his view, a “more intimate setting” than the 70,000 square metres of neighbouring Galeries Lafayette.

The group operates 20 Printemps stores across France, alongside international locations in Doha, Qatar, opened in 2022, and in New York, US, opened in 2025. According to Baume, there are no plans for further openings abroad. The company also encompasses nine Citadium stores and the e-commerce platform Place des Tendances.

The company declined to disclose its revenue, which stood at 1.7 billion euros during its 2017-2018 fiscal year. “We are in the black,” assured Baume, though he noted “we have work to do” to improve profitability.

Protests in recent weeks have cost “several million euros” due to property damage and lost revenue, according to the executive, who is advocating for the easing of Sunday trading restrictions.

At the end of 2021, Printemps implemented a job protection plan, resulting in the elimination of several hundred roles and the closure of three sites.

In March 2026, its shareholders recapitalised the group to the tune of 140 million euros, primarily to clear its “existing losses” of more than 79 million euros following the allocation of results for the fiscal year ended March 2025. These figures were detailed in minutes revealed by trade publication LSA and reviewed by AFP, which management declined to comment on.