Printemps, a constantly evolving store

This article originally appeared in 37°Mag, our paper magazine.

Tours has two department stores: Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, run by Soizic Pinero. She explains to us how the brand is adapting to new trends and how this Touraine franchise has become a "place to live".

“What the people of Touraine are looking for today is a territorial dynamic, service, leisure, trade, catering and culture in the same place. They come to the city center for that, otherwise they would buy on the Internet or in shopping centers,” notes Soizic Pinero, director of Printemps de Tours since 2001.

Ideally located between the station and Place Jean-Jaurès, the brand took over from the Lefroid store in 1984. “We are a franchise, managed and managed by a totally independent local SME whose head office is in Tours. I co-direct it with my sister, Odile Bordet. We pay for the right to carry the Printemps brand by donating part of our turnover to the Parisian headquarters,” she explains. Despite everything, they are in contact with the group, take part in its meetings and want the Touraine department store to be integrated into the national strategy. Only, they are the ones who have to negotiate with the suppliers they want to present in the store. Today, some 300 brands fill the shelves of the three floors and the 6,000 m² of retail space. From home fashion to beauty and leather goods, the choice of products is wide and the brand is positioned as a multi-specialist. During its existence, however, the management did not hesitate to eliminate several less profitable sectors such as bookstores, stationery, toys or records.

Since its opening, the Printemps de Tours has never stopped evolving, following new trends and new modes of consumption. “In the life of a department store, we consider that the commercial strategy lasts five years. But, trends are changing more and more quickly so we are now developing three-year plans,” comments the native of Normandy.

The health crisis has also marked a new turning point in the history of the department store. For the first time, he had to lower the curtain during the confinements: three months in 2020 and one month this year. A closure that forced Soizic Pinero and the management team to review its business strategy. In particular, it was necessary to be more present on the web. “Until then, we didn't really have visibility on the internet. In 2020, we decided to open our showcase site. It lives next to the official pages of Printemps. The brand's team, made up of 120 employees, now hopes to see it "rise in power" and add more and more content to it.

Surprise customers

Also, in the digital age, the director ensures that customers need to be surprised to go to the store. Printemps de Tours has set up various services. Since 2015, it has been possible to participate in a personalized shopping session. In a dedicated lounge on the first floor, customers can try out in complete peace of mind what Bouchra, a personal shopper trained at the Printemps Académie, has selected according to their request. "We offer this service, which responds to different requests: a person who has changed their morphology, who needs advice or a professional look, a person who has changed their life or who simply wants to change their style... We have sometimes had some crazy requests! This is therefore a tailor-made service. “Our clients are unique, so our proposals must be too,” assures Soizic Pinero. In Tours, the watchword is therefore adaptation, faced with a business evolving towards “the personalization of shopping”.

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During a new phase of work launched in 2018, the one who "has bathed in department stores since a very young age" also wanted to make the Touraine brand a place to live, where you can have lunch, meet with friends or spending time with family. The Café du Printemps therefore opened its doors three years ago on the ground floor. “It was not easy to achieve. Initially, we were looking for a franchise, then I met Marek, who is now our chef. From our unexpected meeting was born this restaurant – tea room”, she says. In order to be part of a local dynamic, homemade dishes from local products, organic when possible, are offered in a zero waste logic.

A trend in line with the new demand from customers, who want to buy more and more eco-responsible products and consume in a reasoned way. Printemps de Tours, like other stores of the brand, is launching the Unis vers le beau responsable label. “Wishing to be part of sustainable development and environmental issues, we offer more and more eco-responsible brands and concepts, ethical and sustainable products. The pieces presented on the shelves therefore tend to be made in Europe as often as possible.

And the fashion sector is no exception to this trend. To integrate this new way of consuming into its offer, the department store could, for example, resort to upcycling. "It's the art of transforming a garment, a jewel or a shoe considered obsolete, to give it a new chance and to put it back in the circuit of current fashion, details Soizic Pinero Sometimes, it does not take much- something to make a piece that didn't work end up working. » New partnerships with Touraine companies or artists will soon be proposed.

At the same time, a "green team" will be created internally. “There will be ten people in charge of helping the Printemps de Tours to commit to the beautiful manager. There is this desire of the company to be greener in the way it works. »

"Our clients are unique, so our proposals must be too"

Among the other services offered, an institute was installed in the beauty area, a few months after the restaurant – tea room. From hair removal to make-up, including applying nail polish, the store's employed beauticians offer a wide range of treatments to customers. The stairs have also been transformed into an exhibition space. About twenty photos by Luc Boegly, representing different places in Tours and taken from the book Tours, metamorphosis of a city (Norma editions), are exhibited there. Three of them are intended to be sold at an auction, for the benefit of Pink October. “We want to support cancer patients and research. All monies collected will be donated to this cause. A new exhibition will then follow.

Beyond consumption patterns, it is also the clientele that is changing. “The international clientele is not as important as before. Today, our customers are mainly locals, coming from Indre-et-Loire and the Centre-Val de Loire region. She also notes that Covid-19 has led to a drop in attendance among people aged 60 and over. “The average age of Printemps customers is 50 years old. We are obviously working to rejuvenate it because it is necessary for us to capture and retain new customers,” says the director. More and more people in their thirties are going through the doors of the Touraine department store, as are the Parisians who have come to settle in Touraine in recent months.

Also, the health crisis has created new consumption habits. “With teleworking, for example, customers come more during the week and less on Saturdays,” says Soizic Pinero.

A store in perpetual motion

As a bonus, to bring freshness, new brands enter each season. “We are constantly rearranging, even if the main lines remain the same: the shoes remain in the same place, the women's and men's fashion areas also… It's part of the life of a department store, it's never static! The team must therefore always be on the lookout, looking for new suppliers. It is for this reason that it also participates in national or local fairs throughout the year. “In general, we work a year in advance, specifies the director. We also try to remain open and curious about what is happening locally. We regularly highlight local brands or independent Touraine businesses like us. »

For this start of the school year, a few new features should be noted, such as the opening of a Kartell space, an Italian brand offering designer furniture and decoration, in collaboration with the By Loft store in Tours-Nord. Klep's, a dog accessories shop offering baskets, leashes, harnesses or kibble, will also enter the brand. “During the first confinement, many people took a pet. I noticed this myself while walking my dog. We don't know where this will take us, but we wanted to try it out."

If the Printemps de Tours celebrates its 37th anniversary this year, Soizic Pinero refuses to talk about success. “That would be lying because his story is not linear. The department store lives on, but it has evolved. There were very good times and more difficult times. In the 90s, department stores, for example, had to face competition from shopping centers and then experienced a new boom in the 2000s. According to the director, the brand is also in a difficult time, especially due to the health crisis. “We have to change the model. You have to make bets, constantly evolve. Clients sometimes say that all these changes are painful, but if we don't make them, we die, she says. The department store has to deal with the internet, the Covid, new ways of consuming... We are trying to write a new story, we hope it will be beautiful. »