Bon Marché has created a VIP de-tax bureau, where certain shoppers can have VAT reimbursed on-site in a dedicated lounge. The store even offers extended hours in the in-house restaurant which allows continuous service for jet-lagged shoppers who need to refuel.
Similar perks are offered at Paris’ other big department stores such as Le Printemps or the Galleries Lafayette, (the latter is still considered the holy grail for the first-time visitor). According to consultant, 3E, Chinese tourists now represent more than 30% of the Galleries Lafayette’s total revenues. Galleries Lafayette declined to comment.
High-speed shopping lanes?
The months following Christmas and January sales used to be a slow time for Paris. Not anymore. During Chinese New Year, Galleries welcomes as many as 100 busloads of Chinese tourists a day. That’s potentially 4,000 tourists walking through their doors daily.
Treated as VIPs, they’re ushered through their own private entrance and offered a personal assistant. The shop is thought to pay some commission to the agent that accompanies these tourists but it declined to comment.