Luxury retailers in European cities outside France are jockeying for business from deep-pocketed tourists this summer, betting on a surge in visitors avoiding crowds and street closures in Paris during the Olympic Games.
“Paris will probably be slow,” with cities like London, Milan or Barcelona likely seeing a lift in traffic during the event, Cartier CEO Cyril Vigneron said recently.
The Summer Games, which run from July 26 to August 11, are probably “not the right time to organise a very important high jewellery celebration in Paris”, said Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos. “But we will keep the stores open and be very happy to welcome sports amateurs,” he added.
The executives of the Richemont-owned jewellery brands speak from experience. The 2012 Olympics, held in London, drove some serious shoppers to their boutiques in Paris, they said, although it was “neutral” overall for their businesses. Expecting a similar trend this year, they will focus on meeting their wealthy customers where they turn up.
LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group and an Olympic sponsor, is also basing its expectations on its experience during previous events in London and Beijing. “It’s usually quite neutral — although it makes our life a little bit more complicated when it comes to supplying products into our stores,” said LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean Jacques Guiony.
A report commissioned by Paris 2024 last week flagged a possible “crowding out” effect whereby tourists that had planned to come to Paris go elsewhere, but said that it is hard to measure and to predict.
France’s governing fashion body, The Federation de la Haute Couture et la Mode, has moved the autumn 2024 haute couture fashion shows forward a week to June 24, straight after the menswear spring 2025 ready-to-wear events. Organisers are also doubling shuttle services between shows as final Olympic preparations are expected to snarl city traffic.
