Skechers opens on Rue de Rivoli in Paris

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 12, 2020

With news of so many store closures, it’s encouraging to hear of a major opening with US shoe and lifestyle brand Skechers having opened a flagship store on a key Paris shopping street, Rue de Rivoli.

The new store offers “a full Skechers retail experience that will appeal to locals and eventually returning visitors to shop an expanded range of the latest lifestyle and performance footwear and apparel collections for men, women and kids,” the company said.

Stéphane Drapier, general manager of Skechers USA France, added that the brand “has built a solid and loyal consumer base in France” and especially in Paris.

And while tourist flows may be low at the moment, eventually “with the exceptional amount of pedestrian traffic on this world-famous shopping street, we expect this store to be an impactful showpiece, drawing in consumers”.

Skechers COO David Weinberg also said the business in France was up in low double-digits in 2019 and was “on track for continued growth prior to the pandemic”. 

When nearly all businesses closed in March, the firm was just a couple weeks away from the originally scheduled opening of the store. 

“Establishing a location in the center of Paris is a testament to our belief that Skechers will remain a go-to footwear brand in France and across Europe as the recovery continues,” Weinberg added.

The store, which is on the corner of Rue Saint-Denis, is in the popular shopping district near the Tour Saint-Jacques with access via the Châtelet Metro station, and a few blocks from the Right Bank of the Seine along with major cultural destinations including the Louvre. 

It cover 545 m2 (5,859 ft2) and features a high-resolution digital screen showcasing the brand’s “fashion-forward content” at its entrance in order to “draw the hundreds of thousands of pedestrians who walk past the store every day”.

Inside, there’s a “mid-century modern design with sustainable features including LED lighting and power-efficient HVAC as well as graphic displays highlighting the collections in a layout designed for flexibility and seasonal change”.

The new flagship joins locations in Aeroville Mall outside Paris, Les Terrasses du Port and Plan de Campagne (both in Marseille), as well as Aix en Provence, Toulon, Béziers, Montpellier and Bayonne.

The company has over 3,600 stores globally and 90%+ are now open, including all locations in France.