Victoria's Secret prepares to open its first flagship in Paris

By

Tanissia Issad

Published
Oct 30, 2018

As Victoria's Secret gears up for its upcoming runway show in New York, the label is also planning its first store opening in Paris. FashionNetwork.com has learnt that the American lingerie brand, the arrival of which has been long awaited in France, will open its first real store in the country in 2019 through a franchise deal with Italian business partner Percassi. Along with its home market of Italy, the Bergamo-based retail and real estate firm has also been put in charge of Victoria's Secret's operations in France and Spain, a region in which the brand is planning a total of ten retail locations.  

Although Percassi is tight-lipped about the store's address and opening date (all they'll say for the moment is that they're looking for around 100 people to make up a sales team), it's been public knowledge for a while now that the American brand has had its sights set on the Champs-Elysées for its first Parisian boutique. Having missed out on much-coveted locations on the world's most famous street in the past, could the label have finally found its perfect address on Paris' iconic avenue?

Victoria's Secret currently operates 1,200 stores around the world. In France, the brand is represented by a travel retail location at Orly airport, where lingerie is only a part of the offering, and will be opening a similar store at Toulouse-Blagnac airport in March 2019. A further boutique, also operated by Percassi, will open its doors in Rome in December 2018. Here too, this will be the American label's first real flagship in the country. 

If Victoria's Secret appears to be steaming ahead with its international expansion, the US-based label, which belongs to L Brands, is nonetheless experiencing some financial difficulties on its home turf. On 23 August, Stuart Burgdoerfer announced to investors that in 2018 the brand would be closing 20 of its company-owned boutiques on the American market, where it currently operates around 350, while also opening 37 new locations internationally. The label's revenues in 2017 totalled $7.4 billion, a decline of 8% when compared to the previous year.