Europe's richest man spent $1 billion on a Paris mall with a Christian Dior-branded spa to lure Chinese tourists
- Europe's richest man, Bernard Arnault, is spending $1 billion on renovating a Parisian luxury department store.
- Arnault, who is the CEO of luxury brand LVMH and is worth $101 billion, is hoping the department store will attract Chinese shoppers in search of designer brands.
- La Samaritaine will open in April, after a 15-year renovation, complete with "restored Belle Epoque glamour, including ornate frescoes, mosaics and wrought-iron staircases," according to Bloomberg.
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Europe's richest man, Bernard Arnault, is spending $1 billion on renovating a Parisian department store to lure in Chinese shoppers hunting for luxury brands.
Arnault, who is the CEO of LVMH, and is worth $101 billion, is hoping the department store will attract Chinese shoppers in search of luxury brands, according to Bloomberg.
LVMH, like other luxury brands, banks on shoppers in Hong Kong and mainland China for a large part of sales. LVMH beat expectations in the last quarter despite the unrest in Hong Kong, however, the new store will likely be a major attraction for tourists coming from the region to Paris.
La Samaritaine, which is already part of LVMH, will open in April, after a 15-year renovation, complete with "restored Belle Epoque glamour, including ornate frescoes, mosaics and wrought-iron staircases," according to Bloomberg which sent reporters to a tour of the department store.
It will include "a five-star Cheval Blanc hotel, restaurants, offices, and a Christian Dior-branded spa," according to Bloomberg, while the other half will be filled by luxury brands selling designer perfumes and handbags, tax-free to Chinese shoppers.
So far estimates say the 600 brands in La Samaritaine will attract several million shoppers, Bloomberg says.
The news about La Samaritaine comes as Carl Icahn, the billionaire activist investor, just made a massive $400 million short against shopping malls.
