Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette was founded in 1893 in Paris by Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn as a small haberdashery shop on Rue La Fayette, in the 9th arrondissement, before expanding through the early 20th century into the iconic Boulevard Haussmann flagship that opened in 1912 and has anchored the brand for over 110 years. The Haussmann flagship's central glass-domed atrium (designed by Ferdinand Chanut, completed 1912) is one of the defining architectural-retail spaces in Europe. The Galeries Lafayette vocabulary settled around several distinguishing things: the central Haussmann flagship's seven-floor structure under the iconic glass dome, a buyer-led brand list ranging from every major LVMH and Kering luxury house through to mass-market fashion brands (a deliberate accessibility approach that distinguishes Galeries Lafayette from competitors like Le Bon Marché), the iconic ground-floor cosmetics-and-accessories hall, the gourmet 'Galeries Gourmet' food hall, and the Galeries Lafayette x Champs-Élysées flagship which opened in 2019 as a more contemporary-and-experiential second Paris flagship. Galeries Lafayette is owned by the Houzé family (the descendants of Bader and Kahn through subsequent marriages) through Groupe Galeries Lafayette. The company operates approximately 60 stores across France, plus international flagships in Berlin (Friedrichstraße), Jakarta, Doha, Casablanca, plus the Galeries Lafayette e-commerce platform. The Boulevard Haussmann flagship — which spans approximately 750,000 square feet across the main building and adjacent men's and gourmet buildings — is one of the most-visited department-store complexes in the world and a defining Paris cultural-tourist destination.