Lee unveils new store concept

By

Anne-Sophie Savenier

Published
Apr 11, 2014

Having handed over its Parisian store on rue des Rosiers (3rd District) to All Saints last year, Lee will open a new shop this Sunday at 35 Rue du Temple in Paris (a location formerly occupied by Hartford).

The new location, measuring almost 80 m², will highlight the men’s and women's collections of the denim brand.

It will also allow Lee to test out its new store concept, which, although still in need of some fine-tuning, will be rolled out in Antwerp in the coming months, and then gradually in its other brand outlets (approximately twenty worldwide).

"Until now, we’ve had a fairly raw approach to our stores: a lot of industrial materials and dark wood. We called the concept the 'Black System’. Today, we’ve retained this rather crude approach, keeping with the spirit of the house, but now we’ve opted for a modern look. The result in a very bright atmosphere with light woods. It’s the kind of atmosphere that we’d like to bring to all of our stores," says Gilles Laumonier, president of Lee International for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region.

The denim brand also plans to accelerate development in France, Scandinavia, Benelux and England. "We’re planning for two more openings this year, one of which will be in London, although we’re still looking for space. We’ll be opening our own outlets, as we have in the past, but internationally, we are going to place more of the emphasis on expansion through partner stores."

Finally, Lee expects to launch an e-shop in the second half in France, and if all goes well, in the rest of Europe by the end of the year.