Printemps New York

For this store there's a positive and sceptical reading. First the positive...

Hospitality is woven throughout. On the main level, Café Jalu - named after founders Jules and Augustine Jaluzot - operates as an all‑day café, while Maison Passerelle, an 85‑seat fine‑dining restaurant by chef Gregory Gourdet, is positioned as an aspirant Michelin‑level destination with its own Broadway entrance. A separate wine and spirits shop, accessible from Broadway, extends the offer to include take-home indulgence.

There are theatrical gestural moments: a sneaker room where trainers are displayed like art objects, a circular shoe salon framed by mirrored columns, and fitting rooms styled like a modern Marie Antoinette dressing room, with polka‑dot carpets, triple mirrors and plush seating that make trying on feel like part of the spectacle.

Commentary from The Robin Report and specialists such as Retail Relates characterises Printemps New York as a “high‑concept experiential retail lab”, noting five articulated brand values: perpetual renewal, joyful spaces, mischievous play, deep curation and local engagement. Initiatives such as a “Friday Carpool Club” - encouraging groups from uptown to travel together to One Wall Street - and plans for cooking classes, book readings and pop‑ups underscore the intention to make the store a recurring destination rather than a one‑off visit.

Printemps New York is a particularly rich case study, as it demonstrates how an incumbent European department store can utilise a smaller, highly edited US flagship to test a new model centred on own-staff advisors, hospitality, flexible spaces, and ongoing programming in a non-traditional luxury district.

That said, there are some reservations. The store reads as an office conversion rather than an architectural destination, with the entrance slightly unsure of itself - is it an office or a Grand Magasin?

Once inside, the experience is a combination of "wow" (mainly as a result of the opulent finishes) and frustration, since the 'features' are small, higgledy-piggledy and feel somewhat contrived for Instagram rather than emerging after 160 years of love. The layout of the store is interesting and serpentine, allowing time to wander and learn the layout. However, for a mission-driven shopper (e.g., an evening dress, a glass of champagne), the experience is less than the whole.

Compared to the 5th avenue and uptown incumbents, Printemps wins on style, dressing and finish, although it doesn't compete on size, range and depth. There is space for both, of course, but it's an open question whether the formulation will deliver profits as well as presence once the initial fizz dies down.