Business

Galeries Lafayette: Beijing Flagship Store Closes its Doors

By Eva Morletto27 mai 2026

Thirteen years after opening in the Chinese capital, Galeries Lafayette’s Beijing store is closing its doors. The French retailer is thus turning the page on an expansion model built on the boom in luxury consumption in China.

Galeries Lafayette is closing its Beijing store after thirteen years, reflecting the slowdown in luxury consumption in China (GLP)

In 2013, when the group inaugurated its first store in the country, China appeared to be the new El Dorado for Western brands, bringing together a rapidly growing middle class, an exponentially expanding luxury market and consumers eager for European labels.

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A shift in Consumer Habits

Weakened by the real estate crisis, the economic slowdown and the long-lasting effects of the pandemic, Chinese consumer spending has lost momentum. Galeries Lafayette acknowledged that consumers are now looking for greater flexibility, more personalized services and immersive experiences rather than traditional large-scale department stores.

The Beijing store, spanning 48,000 square meters, had become difficult to adapt without massive investments. However, the closure is not being presented as a withdrawal from the Chinese market: Galeries Lafayette remains active in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Macau through its partnership with real estate company Hopson.

Despite these challenges, the financial results remain solid. In 2025, the group generated revenues of 3.1 billion euros, a remarkable performance in the department store industry. The iconic Boulevard Haussmann location in Paris remains the main driver of this growth.

After benefiting from 100 million euros in investments over the past eight years, the Coupole building in the French capital recorded a 4% increase in activity in 2025, surpassing the 2 billion euro sales mark for the first time, which represents two-thirds of the group’s total revenue.

Digital as a Major Strategic Driver

E-commerce sales jumped by 23% in 2025, now exceeding 100 million euros, highlighting the acceleration of the group’s digital transformation.

This modernization has also been accompanied by more radical decisions. In Marseille, the two Galeries Lafayette stores permanently closed in December 2025 after accumulating nearly 10 million euros in annual losses each. Conversely, the group is accelerating its expansion in markets considered more promising.

In November 2025, Galeries Lafayette inaugurated its first Indian flagship store in Mumbai, bringing together more than 250 international and local brands.

The strategy for the future is ambitious: in early April, the group announced a 260 million euro investment plan through 2030, by which time the historic Boulevard Haussmann store is expected to claim the title of the “world’s leading department store.”

Key Points:

• Galeries Lafayette is closing its Beijing store after thirteen years, reflecting the slowdown in luxury consumption in China.

• The group is now focusing more on digital growth and on more promising markets such as India, where it recently opened its first flagship store in Mumbai.

• Despite several closures and international challenges, the company’s financial results remain strong, largely driven by its historic Boulevard Haussmann store in Paris, which generates most of the group’s revenue.

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