The descent into hell of BHV Marais, placed in receivership

In 1856, a couple of merchants opened a shop on rue de Rivoli. It is called Bazar Napoléon then Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville because it is located right in front of the store. In 1913, an art nouveau style rotunda was erected at the top of this small business which gradually became a true Parisian institution.

Posters from the time boast of the largest store in the world. It is popular for its fashion department but also its basement dedicated to DIY and hardware. At the beginning of the 1990s, prosperous years, the store was bought by the Galeries Lafayette group.

In 2013 it was renamed BHV Marais and experienced its first economic turbulence. Despite good attendance, the store is making a loss. But it is ten years later, in 2023, that the final blow comes.

The Société des Grands Magasins buys the business. At its head, a certain Frédéric Merlin, an ambitious entrepreneur who wants to get the BHV back afloat. His idea is revolutionary, according to him: welcoming the Chinese ultra-fast fashion company Shein on the sixth floor of the store.

A year ago, a huge advertisement appeared on the front of the BHV with this provocative and perhaps premonitory title: “The poster we shouldn’t have made”. Also read "It's falling into ruin": four months after the installation of Shein, the BHV deserted by the brands "It's unfair for brands with real values" This doubtful strategic choice, coupled with late payments, created a mess, the store has never lived up to its name so well. The shelves are emptying, the big brands are leaving one by one: Dior, Guerlain, Sandro, Agnès B and even The Kooples.

The alliance with Shein is also experienced by customers as an environmental and ethical betrayal. They are boycotting the store. “It’s a risk of a bad image,” emphasizes a customer.

It's unfair for brands with real values, which are really invested. And even for the group, notoriety can only drop in this kind of situation. We no longer see a brand in the same way when it validates this type of action.

And that shows that surely this type of brand no longer sells as well as before." The slate is too long. Debts and unpaid debts exceed 100 million euros.

Frédéric Merlin throws in the towel in June. The general manager of the store Karl-Stéphane Cottendin takes over the business. He wants to turn the Shein page.

Several brands are returning but financial difficulties persist. At the end of October, BHV Marais was placed in receivership at his request.

Machine-translated from French