Printemps
| Industry | High fashion |
|---|---|
| Founded | Paris, France (November 3, 1865) |
| Founder | Jules Jaluzot and Jean-Alfred Duclos |
| Headquarters | France |
|
Area served
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France; Andorra; Ginza, Tokyo; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Shanghai |
| Parent | Divine Investments SA |
| Website | www |
Printemps (pronounced: [pʁɛ̃tɑ̃]; meaning "spring" in French) is a French department store (French: grand magasin, literally "big store"). The Printemps stores focus on beauty, lifestyle, fashion, accessories, and men's wear.
Printemps was founded in 1865 by Jules Jaluzot and Jean-Alfred Duclos. The store was designed by noted architects Jules and Paul Sédille and opened at the corner of Le Havre and Boulevard Haussmann, in Paris, France on 3 November 1865. The building was greatly expanded in 1874, and elevators (then a great novelty) from the 1867 Universal Exposition were installed. Rebuilt after a fire in 1881, the store became the first to use electric lighting, in 1888. (Customers could observe the workings of the power plant behind a glass wall.) It was also one of the first department stores with direct subway access, the Metro being connected in 1904.
The policies of Printemps revolutionized retail business practices. The store marked items with set prices and eschewed the haggling based on customer appearance that had previously been standard in retail shopping. Like other (literally "big store", department store), Printemps used the economies of scale to provide high quality goods at prices that the expanding middle class could afford. They also pioneered the idea of discount sales to clear out dated stocks, and later the use of window models to display the latest fashions. Printemps was noted for its branding innovations as well, handing out bouquets of violets on the first day of each Spring and championing the new Art Nouveau style, with its nature inspired motifs.
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Wikipedia