The monolithic Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette has just inaugurated a 3000m2 ‘Wellness Galerie’ which is just as huge over its entire basement. Activated in soft-launch mode over the summer, it will become fully operational with further additions from September, making it the biggest of its ilk in Europe.

“Our goal was to create a truly unique holistic concept, the first in the world bringing together all the best players in the wellness sphere under one roof,” explains Odile Boucher, project director at Galeries Lafayette. “The world is changing and so are our customers. They want, more than ever, to prioritize wellness and balance mind and body.

In fact, the global wellness industry is growing 10% year over year and is expected to reach $7 trillion by 2025.*

The Wellness Galerie brings together health and beauty treatments and therapies from leading French companies alongside targeted international beauty, sportswear and athleisure brands.

A Wellness Concierge is set up in the lobby with a team of 14 advisors to help guests navigate options. There are also bookable bubbles for private events and a nutritionally balanced juice cafe with ingredients from local producers.

In fact, Boucher describes how the “feel good” architecture was designed as a deliberate break with the rest of the store, to help customers disconnect from their everyday lives.

France and Paris in particular have long been known for their secret addresses – the cult spas and under-the-radar beauticians dotted around the city that are jealously guarded and traded in conspiratorial fashion. Bringing so many people together under one roof makes the whole process more accessible, she says.

But it’s also the curation of the Wellness Galerie that is so compelling – the fact that Martine de Richeville’s cult body sculpting, the legendary lymphatic drainage techniques of the Institut Nathalie Duarte and the bespoke eyebrow clinic Le Boudoir du Regard rub shoulders with newcomers like Seasonly and Skinneo with their respective Koreans. Technology-centric facelift and focus for face and body.

New York nail institution Chillhouse brings a global injection to the range and there’s even a bar from cult piercing studio Djula.

“The choice of partners was fundamental, we wanted the best in each area of ​​expertise and to ensure that they were complementary,” explains Boucher, adding that the team worked closely with French wellness consultants. and international to “fully understand the market on a global scale.

The team refined the offer and the customer journey in partnership with the service providers themselves, a process that has been “exciting and rewarding”, she continues, adding that they have worked hard to ensure a wide range of prices and durations of services for wide appeal in terms of pocket and lifestyle.

Elsewhere, the beauty store’s multi-brand offering combines counters from established global names like Clinique and Kiehl’s with newer hits like The Ordinary, Sunday Riley and Paula’s Choice.

As for the sportswear and altheisure store, there’s a similar curation with household names like adidas and The North Face sitting alongside hot US yoga labels Alo Yoga and Girlfriend Collective. There is also a focus on Made in France with eco-friendly brands like Chlore swimwear and Circle Running, prime candidates for global expansion.

Beauty and sportswear stores total some 200 brands and count between them.

In September, exclusive Paris-based gym La Source will open an outlet in the space offering multidisciplinary personal training and group sessions ranging from yoga to bootcamp.

*The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond COVID by the Global Wellness Institute