110 million euros in losses in two years: La Samaritaine, Bernard Arnault's crumbling empire

Article published on the L'Humanité website , December 23, 2024.

From the Pont-Neuf, the Art Nouveau building, topped with its enameled lava sign, stands out in the distance in a beam of polychrome lights. Dressed for the holiday season, the LVMH version of the Samaritaine doesn't attract a crowd on this December evening, ideal for last-minute Christmas shopping.

In the historic building on Rue de la Monnaie ( ^1st arrondissement of Paris), opposite the Louis Vuitton headquarters, the shop windows, where mannequins with expressionless faces are enthroned, seem to leave passers-by cold. They would have had plenty of time to stroll along the street, specially pedestrianized... by Bernard Arnault , who feels at home in this neighborhood, located almost in the center of Paris.

The rare visitors who venture into the former "Parisian department store," built over 150 years ago, tend to flock, camera in hand, to the monumental staircase with its 270 original oak steps rather than to the dreary line of 500 euro Burberry scarves displayed at the entrance.

Empty floors leave salespeople alone amidst platforms whose sanitized layout is reminiscent of airport shops – hardly surprising when you consider that the store's operation has been entrusted to DFS (Duty Free Shoppers), a subsidiary of LVMH and the world leader in the sale of luxury products to travelers.

"What do you want me to do there? It's not my cup of tea at all! Back then, Samar was the poor man's store. We bought everything, like the ad says! Those who didn't have money came here, and the others, to Bon Marché (also owned by LVMH – Editor's note). It's good that it's been renovated, but it's nothing like it anymore! " Marie, a local woman in her seventies, replies on Rue de Rivoli, which overlooks the second store that survived the dismantling project ordered by Bernard Arnault after his purchase of the brand.

A symbolic trophy added to his long list of conquests in the capital, where he is said to have acquired, according to a Mediapart count, more than 200 addresses, vampirizing public space with his brands (Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Berluti, Sephora, etc.).

After fifteen years of work, the billionaire imposed his real estate project and his commercial strategy consisting, at a cost of 750 million euros, beyond bringing the buildings up to standard, of stripping away the "low-end" image, by first removing all its emblematic departments. With the aim of making it, upon its reopening in 2021, "the showcase of the French art of living ".

Of the three 70,000 square meter blocks purchased by the luxury giant, the two renovated stores on Rue de la Monnaie and Rue de Rivoli now occupy only a reduced surface area of approximately 20,000 square meters, compared to nearly 50,000 square meters, during the store's heyday, which until then had boasted of being the largest among its Parisian competitors (ahead of Le Bon Marché, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps).

Part of the remaining space was allocated to LVMH offices and, following a concession obtained by the Paris municipality, to a daycare center and 96 social housing units. As for the last building on the Seine, the best-equipped with its famous terrace offering a breathtaking view of the capital's rooftops and monuments – previously accessible free of charge even to casual onlookers – LVMH has installed Cheval Blanc, a 72-room palace there. To enjoy the exceptional view, you now have to dine at the hotel's gourmet restaurant.

The billionaire's goal: to direct this pool of ultra-wealthy foreign customers towards the many brands displayed in the store, but also towards its services or, better put, "the unique experiences" offered in its spa, its yoga classes or even its guided tours designed to discover the history of La Samaritaine.

Regardless of whether all that remains of the Samar of yesteryear are its walls, LVMH does not hesitate to capitalize on the epic story that presided over the birth of the department store, created in 1870, in the back of a café on rue de la Monnaie, by Ernest Cognacq, a street vendor who came to sell his calicoes there, and his wife, Marie-Louise Jaÿ, a saleswoman at Le Bon Marché.

From success to success, driven by the proximity of Les Halles and La Belle Jardinière (now Louis Vuitton's headquarters), the couple gradually bought up the surrounding buildings, bringing in two prominent architects: Frantz Jourdain (for the Art Nouveau building on Rue de la Monnaie) and Henri Sauvage (for the Art Deco store on the Seine side). The store's name was a nod to the location where Ernest Cognacq first set up his red salesman's umbrella, on the Pont-Neuf, near an old water pump topped with an ornament depicting a scene from the Gospel, where the Samaritan woman offers Christ a drink.

The commercial success, firmly rooted in its popular bias, would last until the 1970s, before the deficits increased year after year, notably due to the departure of Les Halles de Baltard to Rungis. When Bernard Arnault set his sights on the brand, he took over "the sick child of department stores" , in the words of Philippe de Beauvoir, who took over its management when it reopened in 2021.

Three years after its grand reopening under the auspices of Emmanuel Macron, the billionaire's commercial gamble, which relied on a less-than-expected tourist clientele, has failed. "The reality is that they are no longer putting resources into this store," confides Jean-Michel Remande, a CGT union representative, who has seen suppliers "take to their heels" over the months, while the workforce has shrunk from nearly 1,000 employees to 500 today. In 2023, losses are expected to amount to €90 million, on a turnover of around €60 million, according to union sources.

A sign of the malaise: the group's management announced, during a CSE meeting, its intention to withdraw management of the department store from DFS as of January ¹ , 2025, with a view to tying it to the Bon Marché, which is in better financial health. This readjustment also reveals the desire to protect a key piece in Bernard Arnault's hold on the "Belly of Paris", what he considers "his golden triangle of the French art of living" , according to an article in Le Parisien ... itself owned by LVMH.