Paris retail tour: how brands are reinventing physical boutiques as experiential spaces

Ami, Dover Street Market, Nespresso, Coach and Caudalie: ahead of the NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe trade fair, event organiser Comexposium arranged a retail tour in Paris for French and international journalists. The stroll on the eve of the NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe, taking place from Tuesday to Thursday, at Porte de Versailles, demonstrated how brands are reinventing their physical boutiques. These have become experiential spaces and tools for staging their identity.

The tour took place in the Marais. This district has changed enormously in recent years, evolving from a place known for its designer focus to a hub for a plethora of brands.

Many labels have chosen to set up shop in what the tour guide described as a “district that caters to a select clientele”. These include premium brands like Zadig & Voltaire, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot; mass-market retailers such as H&M and Uniqlo; the department store BHV Marais; and premium multi-brand stores or designer pop-ups.

Ami Paris: Marais as an international retail territory

The retail tour began at the Ami Paris boutique on Rue de Turenne. The French brand is seeing its reputation grow abroad. The presentation prompted numerous questions about its positioning, network and average basket size.

The store is organised by world: bags, clothing and accessories, with a largely unisex offering. Additionally, Ami Paris began developing costume jewellery about five years ago and presents this category as still in its early stages. A VIP area offers privileged customers a degree of privacy.

The Ami Paris teams explained that when the Marais boutique opened, they expected to receive many French customers. However, French shoppers only account for 20 to 30 percent of the clientele, which is mainly composed of Americans, Turks and Asians (Japanese, Koreans and Chinese). The brand describes this international clientele as more responsive to the power of the logo than its French customers.

The tour then continued to Dover Street Market, a curated space for designers and premium brands. Created by Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe, the store is located on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. It is set in a courtyard without a shopfront, taking the opposite approach to the ostentatious visibility of other brands. This concept seems to be popular, judging by the number of customers gathered on the first floor.

Next was a quick stop at Maison Nespresso on Rue Vieille-du-Temple, the world's first coffee concept store. The boutique combines tastings, coffee-related experiences, masterclasses, coffee-related objects and accessories, and products from collaborations.

Coach Play makes the boutique a playground

This Parisian location, which opened on July 23, 2026, on Rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, is the first true Coach Play boutique in Europe and the 16th worldwide.

The brand is rolling out a special retail format that has already been tested internationally. The concept is based on customer interaction.

The boutique has two levels. It offers spaces where visitors can take photos of themselves with a Polaroid camera provided or customise their bags.

The upper floor is dedicated to stamping. After purchasing a Coach product, customers can personalise it for free with their name or various motifs, some of which are designed especially for the French capital.

The heritage of the New York brand Coach, founded in 1941, is expressed in a corner that explains how the bags are made and how designs are chosen. It also features books dedicated to the brand's archives.

When asked why clothing is clearly not the focus of this location, the response was that the boutique only displays runway looks on mannequins, with the rest available “online or in outlets”.

The tour concluded at Caudalie, which, in addition to selling products, offers yoga and pilates classes and a spa.

This proves, if proof were still needed, that the physical store seeks to offer what online shopping cannot replicate. It provides a place; an interaction; a service; and personalisation—in short, a brand experience.