Nicolas Group has a strong footprint in the Paris region, with 400 of 500 French stores. What type of clients are you expecting for the Olympics?
Christopher Hermelin: Only 7 or 8 months ago, in terms of targeting, we were expecting a lot of foreigners. But according to the latest statistics from the Paris Tourist Office, 75% of visitors will be French and 25% will come from abroad (U.S.A., U.K., Europeans and Chinese to a lesser extent). A total of 15 million visitors are expected, including 4 million for the Paralympic Games. At Nicolas, we’ve therefore redesigned our approach to sell to these visitors. Whilst we can chat in different languages, we know that Nicholas may not be a strong brand in their countries. However, we also know that 43% of people living around the Paris region will be working from home. With these potential clients at home, we anticipate a shift of sales to local and suburban stores. This is exactly what we saw during Covid : sales in Paris collapsed, but were largely offset by the local suburbs and even by provincial stores.
What is your marketing and media plan for the Olympics?
Given the variations in the Tourist Office’s figures over the last few months, we waited until the last minute to finalise our plans.
