My experience through the journey on the "Rive Droite".

18^th of October 2023

 

It is on the 18th of 2023 that Mr. Laurent Poultier du Mesnil took us in the most important luxury places of Paris.

We first took a cup of coffee to warm us up because of the raining. We also got to know him a little and we talked about ourselves. Then, we started really discovering all the things he wanted to show us on the Rive Droite.

Avenue Montaigne:

 

So first, we went to Avenue Montaigne even though it was raining a lot. Mr. Laurent Poultier du Mesnil did a recap on the biggest luxury groups in France which are Kering (led by François Pinault), LVMH (led by Bernard Arnaud), and Chanel (one of the few remaining independent groups in the luxury sector, owned by the Wertheimer brothers). He told us that there is always rivalry in the luxury sector and specifically between François Pinault and Bernard Arnault. When we were on Avenue Montaigne, we could see this rivalry. For example, on one street, stores that belong to LVMH are facing stores on the other street that belong to Kering. This rivalry also shows up when they deal with buying other brands too. For instance, Bernard Arnault bought Loro Piana to compete with François Pinault. LVMH also bought Tiffany & Co for 15.8 billion euros. One thing that marked me was the story of how Arnault bought Loro Piana. First, the family owned the shares of Loro Piana and so did the son. But a family drama happened, and the family got angry at the son. Bernard Arnault then called the family to make them sell their shares and the family agreed. So, the son had to sell his share to Arnault too because he was in the minority. And that’s how Bernard Arnault became the owner. He wanted to buy Loro Piana because he wanted to buy Hermès but didn’t succeed and because the Loro Piana cut is very close to the Hermès cut.

We walked past a lot of stores like Jacquemus, Dior, Tiffany & Co, Chanel, Fendi and so many more.

After that, it was raining a lot. So, we decided to take the metro to go to La Samaritaine and continue our Journey.

 

La Samaritaine:

 

Before entering La Samaritaine, Mr. Laurent Poultier du Mesnil told us about the difference between the Rive Gauche and The Rive Droite. He explained that the Rive Gauche is the intellectual side. In fact, people on the Rive Gauche are considered to have culture because Saint Louis created La Sorbonne in 1270. He said that Le Bon Marché which is also located on the Rive Gauche has a more demanding clientele and that you can also find all the decorations on this side because L’École des Beaux Arts is there too. Now, for the Rive Droite, he explained that it was the side where you can find a lot of tourists because of Avenue Montaigne, the Louvre, the Champs Elysée and many other places.

Moreover, he told us about the sector of palaces and hotels and that to become a palace you must tell a story, have 2.6 employees per room, and be evaluated. In fact, there are 12 Palaces in Paris. But if we talk about La Samaritaine, the Cheval Blanc Paris, owned by LVMH, is a luxury hotel located in Paris in the former La Samaritaine building.

After this, we finally entered La Samaritaine which is a department store founded in 1870 and owned by LVMH. Because it is located on the Rive Droite, there are a lot of tourists.

The Samaritaine was drowning in luxury brands like Dior, Ruinard, Hennessy, Louboutin, Boucheron (owned by LVMH) and so many more. There was also Trudon which is a niche brand that sells candles. Its clientele is a niche clientele, which means that the clientele is loyal and knows the products well. Each corner was beautiful and decorated with the style and the DNA of the brand. But some corners change a lot so that visitors are surprised each time they visit La Samaritaine. The goal is to ensure that everything is Instagramable. It means that the place itself and the presentation of the products must be attractive and has to make people want to take pictures to put on their social media.

Laurent pointed out to us that there are a lot of Chinese sellers and that the future customers will come from Korea, China, and India.

On the 2nd floor of La Samaritaine, there are all the jewelry brands. He told us that it was because we move upmarket compared to the 1st floor and that it was safer for the jewels.

We then, walked past the Louboutin corner. Laurent told us about the history of Christian Louboutin's red sole and heel. The story is that being there when King Louis XIV woke up was important because they compared it to the rising of the sun. The King's brother was out in the evening, and the next morning he had to cross the butcher's quarter to see the King wake up. But there were pools of blood in the area and his heels and soles turned red. When he arrived, people thought he was starting a new trend. The trend adapted very quickly and became the DNA of the Louboutin brand. At La Samaritaine, the corner Louboutin offers red lipsticks that remain in the brand's DNA.

 

 

Finally, we went on the top floor of La Samaritaine and Laurent told us that at first, the floor was transparent but due to the resistance of the floor and the view from below (for the women) they preferred to redo the floor in a more opaque and resistant glass. On this floor, they sell champagne and wine. You can hold events there, and the clientele from the Rive Droite (the tourists) comes here a lot so there is food to eat.

 

What I liked during this journey and my perspective on luxury spaces:

 

I really liked that we went to different places. I think that we all needed to go out to breathe a little bit, and at the same time we learned a lot about the different places of Rive Droite, about brands and their stories, the rivalry, their place in the luxury industry… I feel like it was a really good experience because the teacher seemed passionate about what he was telling us and therefore it was very interesting. I loved La Samaritaine because I didn’t know where to look. All the corners were beautiful, and the light really highlighted them.

 

I think that my perspective on luxury spaces changed after experiencing them in a new light. Seeing that there is no place for friendship in the luxury industry, seeing their real intentions like how they attract people, seeing what motivates them, for instance rivalry. Those aspects really changed how I perceive luxury now.

 

Thanks to Laurent Poutier du Mesnil for the time you have given us! 

 

Lauren Madi