The Hundred Years' Dispute Between Spring And Old Buddha In Paris

There is an old Chinese saying, "the face of children in June", that is, the weather in early summer is changeable.

But this parable has a corresponding French version, but the Parisians prefer to use it to describe the current early spring March: the clouds are coming and the rain is heavy, but the sun will clear up if it drills out of the clouds.

Spring department store, Osman Avenue, Paris

Although the rain in Paris has been swept down by tourists, it is not without benefit from another perspective, at least for the two old department stores on Printemps Avenue, Osman Lafayette and Galeries store.

Old Buddha's department store Osman Avenue, Paris

Many pedestrians or tourists were caught unawares by showers. They had to hide in the shopping mall, or after they had gone through the lap, they were trapped inside.

The Buddha

In the museum, there are customers who dress up and complain to the phone: "well, the cars can't be called..."

Walking out of the counter at Maison Margiela, the guest lifted his shoulders and clamped his cell phone. He used his bare hands to pick up the old white bag of black lettering, and then to the others.

Rush away.

According to the world clothing shoes and hats net, in the early years, the similar "individual traveler" and the huge tour group looked like ants and camels from the body size.

But by the end of 2015, after the terrorist attacks in Paris, the number of bus stops near Osman Avenue was becoming less and less.

Most of the tourists were diverted to other cities for holiday.

Lord Buddha and Paris spring suffered heavy losses last year.

"It is well understood that people are unwilling to take risks before the situation improves."

Engaged in Paris

Sophie Ejzenberg of development.

On the day of the meeting, she was wearing a COS standing under her umbrella: "I don't buy (luxury brands). Although I work in the fashion industry, I'd better keep my distance. Life is far from fashion."

It sounds like a "I laugh at other people can not see" the natural meaning.

Indeed, life is far from fashion, but it is also the foundation for countless people to make a living.

And in order to grasp this foundation more firmly, let Paris spring department store and the old Buddha's department store fight again with the hundred year old friends on the Osman road in Paris.

Chinese tourists in Paris department store

In 1865, when the department store opened in spring, the arrival of Lord Buddha arrived nearly 30 years later.

Over the next century, Lord Buddha bought the Le BHV / Marais in Paris through a step by step acquisition. In spring, the department store opened a Printemps spring store in Pompidou, and invested in the acquisition of lifestyle shop for Citadium and vogue Place Place des Tendances.

Those who have not changed later have also changed hands: following the opening of PPR, Italy investment group Borletti and Deutsche Bank's RREEF, two years ago, it was bought by Luxemburg investment fund Disa of Qatar investors.

But the only thing that hasn't changed is that the store of two stores always competes on Osman Avenue.

And they compete for the same kind of tourists from China.

For whatever reason, department stores certainly do not want to see customers cool down on the enthusiasm of fashion and shopping.

In order to recall customers, the old Buddha and spring angel had their own way.

Last December, Spring Department Store introduced Alipay exclusively.

Corinne Berthier, director of external relations at the Paris department store, told the interface news that at present, international tourists account for 40%-45% of the total number of customers, half of whom are from the mainland of China.

Despite the negative impact of the terrorist attacks such as Yu Bo and the decline in the RMB exchange rate, the number of Chinese tourists going to France has been greatly reduced. But in view of the huge population base, it can be described as "the thin camel is bigger than the horse". Chinese consumers are still the focus of the two old department stores on Osman Avenue.

When you enter the watch area of two department stores, all kinds of domestic dialects are everywhere.

In order to help Chinese customers quickly find their favorite watches, most brands will add Chinese plations to the publicity materials: tigguheim sneak series, MontBlanc time Walker series, Longines watch Ka LAN series.

Thankfully, this special treatment has helped a lot, because it is hard for Chinese buyers who do not know English to remember "Jaeger-LeCoultre" or "Baume Mercier", not to mention the brand names.

It is also a great advantage for Chinese tourists to get tax rebates directly in the shop: a woman who has just bought a watch returns her tax from the door of the old Buddha's door and looks pretty good. She raised her hand and swept away the front man's advice.

Similar scenes and dialogues are staged every day on Osman Avenue. If you are homesick in Paris, visiting spring stores and old Buddha will be able to relieve homesickness.

"Hurry up."

The female customer's male friend drilled into a traveling minibus that could sit ten people.

The tour guide also appeared quickly. After seeing the number of people, he asked the driver to go away.

After leaving the Provence Road, the minibus disappeared in a corner, leaving behind the black men who were sheltering, chatting, smoking and drinking coffee on both sides of the road.

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Department store Bagua station on Provence Road

"Fashion practitioners love black."

Although there are no written rules, no one can't follow them.

Wearing black staff uniform is the spring department store, the old Buddha's two stores in Paris Osman Avenue close to the old department store clerk, the other black people are department store office staff.

The former wears a brand uniform, usually a black coat with a knee skirt or trousers, the latter has no rigid Dress Code, and a fine black suit or sweater is often "out of the mirror" - people push away the glass door of the Spring Department headquarters of Provence Road 102, with documents under the arm and paper cups on hand.

If Osman Avenue is the stage, Provence road parallel to its back lane is like a backstage.

Gossip from two stores is spreading here.

"Do you know if Lord Buddha wants to cancel the Scorecard?" "ah? Because of that?" - not long ago, the Department of fowl general found that its staff had stolen their scorecards when they signed their orders for customers, and accumulated huge sums of money.

In the early years, luxury brands sold many Mandarin speaking shops to attract Chinese customers. Some were two generation immigrants born in Paris, others were Chinese who left their jobs after graduation.

However, as a world-famous cultural dye vat, Paris's catalytic activities on these foreigners can not be underestimated: the expression of their rest, the expression of chatter, and even the action of smoking are obviously "French".

"This is spring, and that is the old Buddha."

Another tourist who came to ask directions. "We answer these questions every day." a clerk in Spring Department Store stood under the eaves of his own shopping arcade.

During the working hours, they can still breathe, and French colleagues do the same.

She leaned over her head and spit out a string of cigarettes. She bowed her head and drank her coffee. The cup was stacked up and down on the upper layer, pressing half a circle of pink purple lip print.

People in black dress are undoubtedly part of the fashion industry, and their thinking and behavior are all self made. Gossip is often the only thing that insiders know. But in the face of Chinese tourists, all these are dwarfed.

Apart from the tour guide, who cares where to go?

When a salesperson is asked about his competitors, even if he has one hundred unwilling hearts, he must hide it.

"If the store does not have the model that the customer wants, no one can stop him from buying it next door."

Jenny said, "if he buys himself, we may be able to recommend other styles, but if he buys them, the business will be difficult."

Therefore, some brands will make trade-offs when they shop. For example, if they sell bags only in spring, they will be mainly garments, but most brands will not give up any opportunity: customers can buy seasonal products and classic series wherever they go.

After graduating from University, Jenny flew to Paris with his French boyfriend.

When we get the work of offer, we are seeing the consumption boom in China.

According to Bain's 2013 China luxury market research, the luxury consumption of Chinese customers accounts for about 2/3 of the total expenditure.

"At that time, wages came to two and three thousand per month.

Our shop was packed with people and could not walk. My parents never came to the door again after they came here.

But after the terrorist attacks in 2015, the store became coldly clear. "Sometimes there are few guests on the whole floor."

Eric, who buys time in his spare time, also has an impression: "from the end of 2015 to the first half of 2016, the clerk of Lord Buddha saw me and said," where did the Chinese go? Why don't the Chinese come? "

Cosmetic area in flagship store of Osman Avenue, Department of Lafayette

Over the past year, the popularity of the two Paris department stores has been rising slowly, but still far from the peak.

At lunch time, Jenny can easily find a "fast track" to get out of the department store. The secret is to avoid narrow, narrow watch areas and popular brands, like the YSL make-up counter, which is surrounded by a circle of customers who buy lipsticks all the year round.

"The tour guides will still bring the group, but the total number of tourists will be reduced."

The latest statistics from Paris Tourism Commission show that the number of Chinese tourists to Paris in 2016 was 268 thousand fewer than that of the previous year, or 21.5%.

Speaking of the future, Jenny feels that selling this job is not a permanent solution after all. First, wages do not improve in the short term.

"It's not that I didn't want to go home, but my husband is here."

After 2016, there were more and more Chinese students returning home, and there were quite a lot of them around her.

Just one hour lunch time is really not suitable for talking about too heavy future planning.

Besides, the new French government will come to power in two months. Who can tell if the future is left or right?

Purchase to the left guide to the right.

To the left or to the right? When the guide station is at the junction of Osman Avenue and Charles Road, facing the two options of old Buddha and spring, there is no hesitation, bringing tourists directly to Lord Buddha.

"Because spring does not give cash."

Li Xinda answered why the old Buddha's visitors are always more strange than spring.

After studying French for four years in the country, he successfully applied to the French business school. Then he joined a small and medium-sized French business company with his master's degree.

Unexpectedly, after a short period of work, the Tung family collapsed. In order to get rid of the predicament of unemployment, he started a tour guide with his friends.

Now, in retrospect, the long time is still vivid.

"How much can I get back?"

"According to different commodities, the scope is 3%-10%.

Like jewelry, watches usually get the highest rebate. "

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In June 2016, anti-terrorism soldiers walked on Osman street.

The grey income that does not pay taxes takes the lead in tour guide income.

But after the terrorist attacks in Paris, Li Xinda stopped taking regiments because of his own safety concerns. "Business is really bleak."

In 2016, Li Xinda returned home completely.

"Terrorist attacks have a great impact on the tourism industry, but the purchasing industry is good."

Ceng Xiaopang, a tour guide who has been a tourist guide for five years, found that 2015 of the buying and selling businesses had gone down.

In his view, the reasons may be related to the slow down of domestic economic development and the rational consumption of medium and high end customers.

For old hands who are already standing in the buying and selling industry, business is not good or bad.

Dedicated purchasing agents never leave their hands, WeChat chat in a few words, they can determine whether the business is done.

Due to the limited number of friends of WeChat, purchasing agents regularly remove zombie powder, and a year later, a group of loyal buyers are accumulated.

The nickname "Paris little day" has been in the industry for six years. She is inclined to buy goods in spring: "because fewer people here, the shopping environment is better.

If you want to hear the truth, it's because the spring is higher.

Sometimes tour guides and purchasing agents cooperate: purchasing goods to tour guides as a tourist consumer goods to the Department Stores for tax rebates, and asking for rebates, then two people will split accounts.

But according to Li Xinda, tour guides generally need to submit information to the group tourists ahead of schedule.

This is a policy of stores to defraud the two companies from cheating.

As for how to hit the edge ball, it's still a commercial secret.

In very few cases, when purchasing agents and tour guides cooperate, they will ask the group of passengers to bring goods back to China, but if the quantity of goods is large, it will not work.

In addition, such as jewellery watches and other valuable commodities, purchasing is not afraid of asking outsiders to help or mail.

At this point, the human meat express came to the stage.

If the work is called antitrust bureau in ancient times, Chinese criminal law defines it as "smuggling".

A lot of meat couriers rush to and fro between Europe and China for high returns.

Men's wear hall and Sunday business

The features of the "scenic spots" of Osman Boulevard determine the composition of two department stores.

Le Bon March e, the only department store on the left bank in Paris, has 60% of its overall sales from French customers, so it has a relatively small risk in the shadow of terror.

In the spring and old Buddha's dependence on the tourist economy, blood is resurrecting at the moment. Apart from providing special care and strengthening cooperation with travel agencies, they have shifted their gaze to the men's wear market, trying to increase the proportion of French customers.

At the end of January this year, the men's wear Hall of department stores opened in spring.

Since then, the two department stores have their own independent men's wear buildings and are connected by the corridor bridge to the main hall.

A new seesaw battle is emerging.

In the spring of 2014, when the team went to Japan and Korea, they found it necessary to reorganize the men's clothing department.

"We see that the men's wear market is rising, and the first-line fashion brands have opened the men's wear line, and the emerging brands even dare to challenge the mature brands in this field."

Corinne Berthier said that 45% of the sales of clothing in spring department stores came from men's wear. "This phenomenon tells us that men are shopping now not only for their needs, but also for emotional factors."

According to the world's clothing and shoe net, spring refurbishment totaled 100 million euros, and introduced more than 70 new brands for men's wear hall, including J.W.Anderson, Facetasm, Hood by Air, Raf Simons, Undercover and other exclusive sales brands.

"Exclusive is important," said Gilles Desmousseaux, head of public relations department at Spring Department store. "It determines whether customers will come here."

Spring is reluctant to disclose the number of buyers and team structure, but acknowledges that it is looking for exclusive, young and benchmarking brands.

Compared with the Japanese and Korean department stores, how much of the two old department stores on Osman Boulevard can still be regarded as the capital of absolute superiority? Whether it is the beautiful dome of the old Buddha or the viewing platform of the department store in the Spring Department? The spring department store plans to open the free Restaurant in the top floor, and visitors can have a meal overlooking the panoramic view of the city of Paris.

It sounds romantic, but can you think about it that domestic stores and shopping malls began to do so long ago?

In addition to entering the men's wear market, the two department stores have recently applied for the right to open Sunday.

In 2015, the French economic minister, Mr Ma long, proposed that the economic reform plan passed by the French cabinet included increasing the number and time of shops opening on Sunday.

On Sunday, which has been complained by numerous tourists, there are shops now! The old Buddha has recruited 500 people to stay on Sunday to expect 5%-8% growth.

Spring is the last Paris department store to announce the opening of Sunday, and is restricted to the first quarter of 2017.

"In view of the increasing competitiveness of other European cities, Sunday's opening is crucial."

Corinne Berthier believes that it is too early to judge the proportion of sales on Sunday, but it is likely to be the second sales peak after Saturday.

A hundred years later, the two old department store friends on Osman Avenue returned to the starting point of the race again.

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