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Thousands of contemporary art, French royal furniture and rare books amassed by Hubert Guerrand-Hermès will be dispersed through four auctions in December.

Where would you find at once a chair from Marie-Antoinette’s boudoir, one of Pierre Soulages’ paintings, furniture by Le Corbusier and a pair of topiary boars by François-Xavier Lalanne?

At the Hôtel de Lannion, a 17th-century Paris mansion once home to Hubert Guerrand-Hermès, a fifth-generation descendant of Thierry Hermès, founder of the French luxury house.

Some 1,000 lots from his collection will be going under the hammer at Sotheby’s in a series of four physical and online auctions mid-December.

Mario Tavella, president of Sotheby’s France and chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, said it was rare to find a collector like Guerrand-Hermès who had been equally interested by the classical arts as he was by design and contemporary artists.

Sotheby’s said according to family lore, Guerrand-Hermès sharpened his eye for collecting at a young age when his mother would send him and twin brother Xavier to the Puces de Saint-Ouen flea market, challenging the boys by offering to pay what she thought their finds were worth.

Estimated between 10 million euros and 15 million euros, the lots of the late Hermès descendant collected over the years spoke of “a discerning eye that expertly knew how to marry different periods and disciplines,” continued the auction house executive.

In addition to French royal furniture that includes a carved and gilded Louis XVI chair commissioned for Marie-Antoinette’s personal apartments at the Chateau de Versailles and a dresser commissioned by royal mistress Marquise de Pompadour, the late collector also snatched up works by Pablo Picasso, Juan Miró and contemporary artists such as Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor.

Austrian art dealer Thaddaeus Ropac, who shared a love of music with him, told Sotheby’s the collector had been eager to learn about the contemporary scene, attending dinners with artists such as Anselm Kiefer.

A central interest of Guerrand-Hermès was the Duchesse de Berry, whose discovery he once described as “the beginning of a passion, which has never left me.

Some 500 lots are connected to the 19th-century aristocrat, born Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and who married the third son of French king Charles X.

Not only was she a patron of the arts herself and an enthusiastic collector, but she was also the ancestor of Guerrand-Hermès’ wife Rosalinda Álvares Pereira de Melo, herself a member of the Portuguese nobility.

He recreated the duchess’ library on the ground floor of his Paris home, amassing rare manuscripts once owned by the duchess but also items such as a gilded Sèvres clock from 1826 in Restoration style, an elephant timekeeper in patinated bronze and an Aubusson carpet in a chequerboard of floral squares. Her portrait as well as those of some of her relatives will also be part of her sale, as will her handkerchiefs.

Among the items going under the hammer in December are works by Bernard Dubuffet and Joan Miró; Lalanne’s topiary boars, estimated between 100,000 euros and 150,000 euros; the artist’s Singe SI et Singe SII, between 1 million euros and 2 million euros; a portrait of Duchesse de Berry by Baron Gérard, expected to go between 50,000 euros and 70,000 euros; and Soulages’ “Peinture, 28 février 1977,” with a top estimate of 1 million euros.

Guerrand-Hermès, who died in 2016 at the age of 75, had been vice chairman of Emile Hermès SARL, which represents the family shareholders, and general manager of the group’s real estate companies. He also served as a foreign trade adviser to the French government and was made an officer of France’s Legion of Honor in 1999.

A patron of the arts, the collector was treasurer of the Société des Amis du musée national d’art moderne — Centre Pompidou, and a supporter of the World Monuments Fund, a not-for-profit association dedicated to preserving cultural heritage.

Ahead of the auctions, the collection will be on public display at Guerrand-Hermès’ erstwhile Paris home near the Musée d’Orsay between Dec. 9 and 13.

Europe's competition authority had widely been expected to wave through the deal after it was approved in the U.K., and other regions, earlier this year.

LONDON – The European Commission has “unconditionally” cleared the acquisition by Farfetch of a 47.5 percent stake in Yoox Net-a-porter in a decision that had widely been expected.

The approval comes seven months after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority approved the transaction, which was first announced in August 2022.

On Monday, Compagnie Financière Richemont said the EU was the last regulatory authority required to provide clearance. Richemont had planned to complete the deal later in the fourth quarter of this year.

In a brief statement, Richemont said the deal’s completion remains subject to “certain other conditions” that Richemont and Farfetch are working towards fulfilling. A further announcement will be made in due course.

The European Commission later issued its own statement, confirming its approval of “joint control of YNAP” by Richemont and Farfetch.

It said the transaction “would not raise competition concerns, given its limited impact on competition in the markets where the companies are active.”

Richemont’s shares were down slightly in early afternoon trading at 104.15 Swiss francs.

As reported, YNAP’s parent company plans to sell a majority stake in Yoox Net-a-porter Group to Farfetch and Alabbar, YNAP’s partner in the Middle East.

On completion of the deal later this year, Richemont will hold a 49.3 percent stake in YNAP. Over the next five years, Farfetch is expected to acquire the entirety of YNAP, subject to certain conditions.

In exchange, Richemont will receive Farfetch Class A ordinary shares, expected to represent 12 to 13 percent of Farfetch’s issued share capital.

The deal also foresees the acquisition by Symphony Global, one of the investment vehicles of Mohamed Alabbar, of a 3.2 percent stake in YNAP, with the aim of transforming YNAP a “neutral online platform” for the luxury industry.

Richemont and Farfetch have said they plan to work together to accelerate the quality and global penetration of the Richemont brands online.

Going forward, Richemont will also leverage Farfetch technology, with YNAP and the Richemont maisons adopting Farfetch Platform Solutions. The maisons will also sell via e-concessions on the Farfetch Marketplace.

The wheels of the deal are already in motion: In the first six months of fiscal 2023, Richemont reported a loss of 766 million euros following the noncash write-down of assets linked to the proposed sale of a majority stake in YNAP.

Richemont chairman Johann Rupert has said the new alliance will realize his “long-standing goal of making YNAP a neutral, industry-wide platform, with no controlling shareholder.”

He added that “it was never Richemont’s dream, or intention, to own an online business.” Rupert said Richemont originally took full control of YNAP because its former shareholders had wanted to sell their stakes.

Rupert said the planned sale of YNAP to Farfetch will allow Richemont “to deliver on its global digital strategy” and, at the same time, “to focus on what it does best.”

He said the plan is to continue building brand equity at the company’s luxury maisons without having to worry about running a digital business.

The deal with Farfetch, he declared, will be “transformative for all of luxury, and not for a select few. It will transform big and small companies throughout Europe” by allowing them to set up shop online with help from tech-savvy Farfetch.

Founder and chief executive officer José Neves said Farfetch’s tech will be “a game-changer for Richemont’s brands, and allow them to operate in a hybrid marketplace that is open to the entire industry.” The deal, he added, will double the gross merchandise value of Farfetch.

Analysts are raising their year-end forecasts as the Fed ponders whether to increase interest rates again

Earlier this year, economists and Federal Reserve officials predicted that the U.S. economy would be sputtering by now as higher interest rates cut into spending and investment.

The opposite is happening.

Recent economic data suggest the economy is accelerating despite higher borrowing costs, the resumption of student-loan payments, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Analysts, many of whom had expected a recession this year, are pushing up their forecasts. Goldman Sachs economists last week raised their growth estimate for the third quarter ended on Sept. 30 to an annual rate of 4% from 3.7%. High Frequency Economics, an economic consulting firm, raised its third-quarter forecast to 4.6% from 4.4% and its fourth-quarter forecast to 1.2% from 1%.

A figure in that forecast range for the third quarter would represent acceleration from 2.2% growth in the first quarter and 2.1% in the second. The Commerce Department reports the official figure on Thursday.

A banner September

By some measures, the labor market actually got stronger over the course of the third quarter. Employers added 336,000 jobs in September, up sharply from 227,000 in August and 236,000 in July.

That hiring is fueling new spending. Monthly retail and food-service sales were up 0.7% in September after 0.8% in August, 0.6% in July and 0.2% in June.

Manufacturing, which had sagged in the spring, is showing signs of rebounding as well. Factory output ticked up 0.4% in September, Fed data showed Tuesday, after declining 0.1% in August.

Big banks such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase reported strong earnings this month, and executives say their outlook on the economy has improved. American Airlines also said Thursday that it expects travel demand this holiday season to be stronger than last year’s.

Despite this momentum, inflation has continued to ease, to 3.7% in September from a recent peak of 9.1% in June of last year.

That has allowed Fed officials to indicate they would hold off on further rate increases unless they see signs of renewed price pressures. The Fed has raised interest rates to a 22-year high of between 5.25% and 5.5% over the past 19 months to cool the economy and bring inflation under control.

Fed officials are “proceeding carefully,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech Thursday.

Falling inflation boosts purchasing power

There are several possible drivers for the recent acceleration. First, the combination of cooler inflation and still-strong wage increases means that paychecks go further.

Between December and June, inflation-adjusted incomes after taxes rose at an annualized rate of 7%, estimates Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. That pushed up the household saving rate to 5.3% in May from 3.4% in December of last year, adding to the roughly $1.2 trillion in accumulated savings left over from pandemic-era stimulus programs.

During the third quarter, households began to run down those savings, fueling new spending. The saving rate fell to 3.9% in August.

Receding fears of a recession could also be making households more comfortable spending money, especially now that it appears the economy has shrugged off the effect of the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the spring, said Marc Giannoni, chief U.S. economist at Barclays.

After predicting a recession for the past year, economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this month said they now believe that the economy will avoid a downturn in the next 12 months.

Muted impact of higher rates

Meanwhile, the Fed’s interest-rate increases haven’t had the expected cooling effect. That could be because businesses and households locked in lower interest rates during the pandemic when the Fed’s short-term rate target was near zero, Powell said Thursday.

Indeed, economists at Jefferies found corporate interest expenses as a share of revenue has been declining over the past year, despite the Fed’s rate increases. And while higher mortgage rates make it harder to finance new home purchases, roughly 14 million homeowners refinanced during the pandemic, according to research by the New York Fed.

That lowered many families’ mortgage payments and, in some cases, allowed them to cash out some home equity, boosting household savings by about $400 billion through the second quarter, the bank found.

Where does the economy go from here? Economists point to three possible outcomes.

First, the momentum might be short-lived.

Even though hourly wages are going up, workers are working fewer hours. Year-over-year weekly wages adjusted for inflation fell 0.2% in September, the first decline since May. If this continues, households could pull back.

Second, the economy could continue to run hot and send inflation up again. That could prompt the Fed to raise interest rates further, slowing the economy and raising the risk of recession.

A Goldilocks scenario

Third, growth could stay strong but inflation remain under control. This would be the best of all worlds because it would imply higher productivity, meaning that the economy could produce more goods and services without bottlenecks that lead to inflation. If that is the case, stronger growth could continue without the Fed having to raise interest rates.

There are some signs of promise. The proportion of working-age people in the labor force—that is, who are working or looking for work—is the highest in more than two decades. That suggests job growth can stay high without employers having to boost wages so much that they must also raise prices.

And the transition to cleaner energy sources is sparking new business investment, thanks to federal subsidies. Private-sector nonresidential spending amounted to 14.7% of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product in the second quarter of this year, the highest share in records going back to 2007.

For now, however, many economists are reluctant to embrace this upbeat scenario.

“Has the economy shifted in such a way that we don’t have to worry about inflation pressures from a tight labor market? I don’t think that’s the case,” said Ben Herzon, an economist at S&P Global.

Her shapewear brand valued at $4 billion is expanding its collection this week to include boxers, briefs and undershirts

Kim Kardashian’s shapewear empire is stretching toward a new kind of customer.

This week Skims is adding men’s boxers, briefs, undershirts, T-shirts, tank tops and leggings to its online store, building on its popular collection of nude-toned bras, bodysuits and underwear for women.

Kardashian said she sees an opportunity to bring higher-end products to a men’s category dominated by mass brands. “There really is a niche in the marketplace for our designs, our color tones and our materials,” she said in an interview.

Numerous upstart companies, including Skims, have sought to grab market share from giants like Victoria’s Secret in recent years with products that promised a better fit and more comfort. Skims co-founder and CEO Jens Grede believes men’s underwear is ripe for that sort of disruption.

“The men’s category as a whole, has really been a race to the bottom, of multi-packs and discounts,” said Jens Grede. “We’re trying to excel and show men that there’s just a different level of comfort and performance you can have in your first layer.” Pieces will range in price from $16 to $54, and packs from $42 to $98. The items will feature cotton, stretch and compression fabrics. Sizes will run from XS to 5X.

Kristen Classi-Zummo, an apparel-industry analyst at market-research firm Circana, said men’s underwear has become a competitive category, with $5.7 billion in sales over the last 12 months.

“Traditional giants like Hanes and Fruit of the Loom continue to hold their ground, but the landscape is evolving,” said Classi-Zummo. “Active brands, private labels, and direct-to-consumer players are fiercely competing for a spot in every man’s underwear drawer.” The Skims men’s line features shape-hugging underwear and minimalist athleisure that hews to a neutral palette of brown, khaki, gray and black.

To attract male customers, Skims is relying on star athletes. The brand has tapped Brazilian soccer star Neymar, NBA player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunders and NFL defensive end Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers for its first ad campaign.

“If you really want to communicate with hundreds of thousands of men, sports is the platform to do it,” Grede said.

Kardashian said she hoped the athletes will help Skims show that its pieces can fit a range of body types. “They’re all just individually so great in their fields, but also all three are so different,” she said.

Skims launched in 2019 with lingerie and compression shapewear available in a range of nude tones. Today the brand has a $4 billion valuation, with $670 million in total funding.

Grede said the brand is projected to reach $750 million in net sales this year. Grede didn’t share a timeline for an IPO but said “I believe Skims deserves to be a public company when the time is right.”

Kardashian said Skims shoppers often requested men’s products for their boyfriends and husbands. Skims spent three years developing its men’s line, which Kardashian said could later include pajamas, loungewear and shapewear.

Skims is opening its first stores next year in New York and Los Angeles, which Grede said will sell both men’s and women’s. While Skims’ women’s products sell at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Net-a-Porter, among other select retailers, Grede said its menswear will initially only sell online and in its stores. Eventually, he said, the company plans to sell to retail partners.

In addition to Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, Skims will now also compete with some of America’s biggest sportswear brands like Under Armour and Nike. Grede is also the co-founder of Brady, the sports apparel brand from Tom Brady. A spokesperson said there is no overlap between Brady and Skims.

Kardashian said the brand has been sending its men’s products to influencers and athletes ahead of the launch. The campaign featuring Neymar, Gilgeous-Alexander and Bosa will run across digital, social media and TV.

“The challenge is always to get guys to try on a new product because we are very set in our ways,” Grede said. “To get them to try a new brand can take time, but I think once they try Skims, they won’t go back. Men are obsessed with comfort.”

Filiale de LVMH, la première enseigne de parfumeries au monde mise sur les ouvertures de magasins, les services et les innovations.

Sur des Champs-Élysées en pleine mutation, c’est l’ouverture la plus attendue de l’année. Ce vendredi, les équipes de Sephora inaugureront en grande pompe la version rénovée du navire amiral de l’enseigne de parfumeries, situé au numéro 66 de la plus belle avenue du monde. Sous une immense verrière reproduisant, au choix, la lumière du jour, les couleurs noires et blanches symboles de la marque ou des animations colorées, une immense allée pavée en marbre rappellera aux visiteurs qu’ils sont au cœur de Paris. Avec en plein milieu un «beauty hub» typique de l’enseigne, surplombé d’une structure métallique symbolisant l’Arc de triomphe. Sur les murs en bois, un «beauty wall» à perte de vue met en valeur les parfums et produits de beauté qui ont fait la renommée de l’enseigne.

Cette réouverture est aussi un enjeu pour LVMH, propriétaire de Sephora depuis 1997. D’une part, l’enseigne est l’un des principaux pourvoyeurs de profits du leader mondial du luxe, avec Louis Vuitton et Hennessy ; d’autre part, le groupe a d’autres ambitions sur les Champs-Élysées, à commencer par la création d’un nouveau flagship pour Louis Vuitton, à la place du siège historique du CCF. Il aura fallu aux architectes plus d’un an et demi de réflexion et six mois de travaux pour rénover totalement les 1300 m2 du magasin phare de Sephora, inauguré en 1996. «C’est le plus gros investissement jamais consenti sur un de nos magasins en Europe, détaille Guillaume Motte, PDG de Sephora, leader mondial de la parfumerie sélective. Une telle rénovation doit nous permettre de continuer à faire croître de façon importante notre activité en France où, même si le marché est plus mature, le potentiel reste important.» Avec 10.000 visiteurs par jour, le magasin figure dans le top 2 des points de vente de l’enseigne. Son coup de jeune doit lui permettre de faire bondir de 20% des ventes.

Tous les ans, Sephora modernise ainsi de fond en comble deux à trois de ses boutiques phares, comme le Sephora des 4 Temps à la Défense en 2019. Il ouvre par ailleurs au moins 100 nouvelles adresses par an, comme à Londres en mars dernier. Après plus de quinze ans d’absence, l’enseigne a fait son grand retour outre-Manche. En novembre, il en inaugurera un second à Stratford City. «C’est la preuve que loin d’être mort, le magasin qui mêle expérience et services est plus que jamais vivant», insiste Guillaume Motte.

Services et innovations

Sur un marché mondial de la beauté en pleine forme avec une croissance de 6% l’an passé pour atteindre 250 milliards d’euros, Sephora affiche une santé encore plus éclatante. Après une hausse de 17% en 2022, le chiffre d’affaires de la division distribution sélective de LVMH, dont l’enseigne est la locomotive, a bondi de 26% sur les neuf premiers mois de 2023. Selon les analystes, l’enseigne aux 2700 magasins avoisinait en 2022 les 12 milliards d’euros de chiffre d’affaires, soit 15% de l’activité de sa maison mère.

«Avec une croissance 2 à 4 fois supérieure à celle de nos concurrents, l’objectif des 20 milliards d’euros pourrait être atteint plus vite que prévu», glisse Guillaume Motte, sans dévoiler de date. Pour garder le rythme, le PDG compte consolider les piliers de sa croissance. Notamment le savant mélange entre les marques phares du marché aussi vendues chez ses rivaux et dans les grands magasins, les marques ou références proposés en exclusivité (tels les parfums Francis Kurkdjian, les cosmétiques Makeup By Mario et Glow Recipe) et sa gamme propre Sephora Collection, qui fait de l’enseigne une destination privilégiée des générations Z et Alpha. «Sephora Collection est la marque qui recrute le plus dans nos magasins. Par son accessibilité, elle permet aux clientes de découvrir la beauté de prestige», décrypte le PDG.

Sephora mise aussi sur la montée en gamme, notamment sur le parfum, et limite les prix cassés. «Nous ne sommes pas favorables au discount et promotions à tout va, et préférons nous différencier par le prix juste, l’offre, l’expérience et l’image», explique le dirigeant. Cette stratégie a fait mouche tant auprès des marques historiques (Dior, Lancôme…) que des plus récentes et branchées, comme Fenty Beauty, la marque de Rihanna, ou Rare Beauty, celle de Selena Gomez, lancée en 2020.

Dans ses boutiques comme sur internet, Sephora mise plus que jamais sur les services. Ceux offerts en rayon par ses vendeuses équipées de terminaux digitaux et ceux de soin et maquillage proposés dans des espaces dédiés à ses clientes VIP. Dans son concept «Store of the Future» lancé à Singapour il y a un an, les applications d’analyse de la peau se mêlent aux conseils de maquillage générés par intelligence artificielle, aux QR Codes et aux capteurs digitaux donnant informations et avis clients. «Nous sommes dans une approche ultra-innovante, assure le PDG. Cela explique le dynamisme qu’en tant que leader, nous impulsons dans notre secteur.»

Ce concept à la pointe de la technologie a été répliqué à Shanghaï cet été et la semaine dernière à Wuhan. Tous concepts confondus, une quinzaine d’ouvertures sont prévues dans l’empire du Milieu d’ici fin décembre . «La reprise de l’activité reste lente en Chine, admet le PDG. Mais la différenciation de l’offre fait bien partie de notre plan d’accélération sur place. Le soin y est le segment le plus important, mais le maquillage offre aussi des opportunités, avec des marques symboles de la beauté chinoise comme Mao Geping ou Tatcha, qui marchent très bien.»

Plutôt que d’ouvrir de nouveaux marchés, Sephora préfère se concentrer sur les pays où il est déjà présent. Comme au Royaume-Uni et au Mexique, «où, avec respectivement 2 et 35 magasins, le réservoir de croissance est grand», estime Guillaume Motte.

Le groupe compte surtout poursuivre sa véritable «success story» aux États-Unis, son marché le plus important et affichant «une croissance organique particulièrement soutenue de ses ventes», selon le dernier point semestriel de l’enseigne cet été. «Loin d’y avoir un ralentissement, la dynamique reste très forte. Comme ailleurs, la beauté même de prestige reste un plaisir abordable. C’est ce fameux “lipstick effect”, (l’«effet rouge à lèvres»,NDLR) qui permet d’atténuer les creux de marché», estime Guillaume Motte. Via une association avec la chaîne de grands magasins Kohl’s en 2021, Sephora y dispose désormais d’un millier de points de vente («shop in shop») à son enseigne.

«Partout dans le monde, nous investissons dans la marque, l’expérience et les équipes», conclut le dirigeant. Les succès récents de ses événements Sephora, regroupant à New York, Paris puis Shanghaï (début 2024) des innovations, ses marques exclusives et des master class, prouvent que la recette fonctionne. Les relais de croissance ne sont pas épuisés. À côté du maquillage, du soin et du parfum, de perspectives s’ouvrent depuis 2020 sur les soins du cheveu. «Le marché est en pleine croissance, et nous voulons aussi devenir une destination capillaire», confirme-t-on dans les couloirs du flagship parisien des Champs-Élysées.

“It was the perfect moment to reinvent the prestige beauty flagship experience,” said Guillaume Motte, Sephora president and CEO.

PARIS — Sephora’s Parisian flagship has gotten a significant makeover.

Following six-and-a-half months of renovation, the 12,915-square-foot store will reopen its doors to the public on Friday. This is the first major remodeling the location has had since opening in 1996.

“Sephora is shaping the prestige beauty landscape,” said Guillaume Motte, the retailer’s president and chief executive officer. “We are, at the moment, going through a very inspiring momentum, with vibrant innovations in terms of brands, categories and products, new customer behaviors and expectations.

“It was the perfect moment to reinvent the prestige beauty flagship experience,” he continued. “And, of course, the perspective of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games [for which Sephora is an official partner of the torch relay] made it a perfect moment for this renovation.”

“We wanted to create a more differentiated experience that brings together the best of beauty from all around the world, with an atmosphere that is deeply connected to the store’s exceptional location,” continued Sylvie Moreau, president, Europe and Middle East at Sephora.

There was just one city in mind.

“The inspiration is coming from Paris,” said Benoît Ponte, general manager of Sephora France, during a walk-through last week of the store, which was bustling with employees setting up for the reopening.

The flagship’s design nods vigorously to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, on which it stands, at numbers 70 to 72, with a 2.6-foot-wide path of hand-set snow white marble paving running straight through the store. Sephora’s signature black-and-white stripes appear on some columns flanking that.

Making everything glow is the 295-foot-long illuminated ceiling, which can be adjusted to resemble natural light. The idea was to give the illusion of being under one of Paris’ glass-covered walkways.

Upon entering, Sephora’s walls seem to be made of the limestone used on Parisian buildings, but it’s trompe l’oeil. On the left-hand side is a click-and-collect area with a selfie-friendly, multihued light box.

A bit further in, guests will find a list of the store’s services, like makeup, skin care, hair, fragrance discovery, brows, face glow and personalized engraving. That hangs across from a wall ablaze with Sephora’s flame logo.

The Corner is devoted to individual brands, with the first being Dior. Then the full brand experience rolls out.

“It’s very premium,” said Ponte of the selection. “Some brands are only at Sephora Champs-Élysées.”

An example of a label found in no other Sephoras is Maison Francis Kurkdjian, a fragrance brand that shares the retailer’s parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Francis Kurkdjian will be sold in the section devoted to high-premium fragrance brands. Facing that are premium makeup labels.

“You have the Beauty Hub, which is really the Arc de Triomphe inside the store,” said Ponte, pointing to the 540-square-foot central space. “We can animate it on our own, but the brands are animating as well. For the coming two months we will have a new brand doing something every day.”

At first, makeup and skin care labels will mostly take over the hub, which is modular.

There is an area showcasing which brands are hot on social media, plus The Next Big Thing gondola and the Gift Hub.

Reda Slaoui, director of architecture and design, Europe and Middle East at Sephora, highlighted some noble materials implemented, such as the high-quality marble used on some counters, as well as the floor.

For the first time in a Sephora, there are large green plants.

“Visually it has an effect when you have plants in the space, but it also helps with the air quality,” said Slaoui, adding the new air conditioning system filters to the maximum.

Much thought was poured into corporate social responsibility initiatives. There are, for instance, fewer digital screens in the new location versus its predecessor. Each LED system was replaced with the most consumption-efficient iteration.

“This store will reduce by 50 percent the energy consumption that we had in the previous store,” said Ponte.

Acoustics-wise, it will be quieter here, too, due to some corrugated textures on walls, as well as materials used, such as wood.

This flagship also sells the wide range of prestige fragrance — for women and for men — and color cosmetics found at other Sephoras. Those include the likes of Benefit, Charlotte Tilbury and Rare Beauty.

The retailer’s signature collection has its own department, and there’s an area for hair care.

“The category of hair is booming at Sephora,” said Ponte, explaining it’s been a segment of focus for the retailer over the past two years in France, where its selling surface has doubled. Some brands lining shelves include Kérastase, Gisou, Sisley and Moroccanoil, as well as Dyson accessories.

Where the cash registers once stood at the far right of the store now houses the skin care department, replete with strips of wood lining the walls and elevated ceiling. This vast area, with brands such as Byoma, Drunk Elephant and Laneige, has skin-related services. It is illuminated with natural light streaming through large, frosted windows.

“Like hair care, it’s another booming category for us,” said Ponte.

Merchandising was tweaked.

“We optimized the space of the brands” to help improve circulation, said Slaoui, explaining that some gondolas are shorter than before, measuring 6.5 feet rather than 10 feet in length.

“But at the end of the day, we express the same volume of products,” said Ponte.

Other exclusives for France include Makeup by Mario, Prada Beauty and Glow Recipe.

Prior to the remodeling, Sephora’s Paris flagship boasted 12 million visitors a year, of which one-quarter were tourists from outside France. Many are considered VIP clients.

Per day, there were more than 10,000 people visiting, while after the renovation footfall levels should be higher, according to Ponte.

“That’s why the circulation is so important to the concept and the layout,” said Slaoui.

The cash registers now are placed directly at the back of the store under a large screen and self-checkout is available.

“We sell a product every 15 seconds,” said Ponte.

A private lounge was expanded for VIP customers or brands to animate, with services possible.

“We have Sephora codes — black and white — with very beautiful materials and the codes of Paris,” said Slaoui. “We are like in an apartment here.”

This store renovation is backed by the largest investment in the history of Sephora Europe, according to Ponte, who would not divulge numbers.

Overall, the retailer aims to take a global-yet-local approach.

“Sephora is the only prestige beauty omnichannel retailer that is truly global. However, we want to ensure we stay relevant with the local consumer,” said Motte.

“Our new stores, such as the Champs-Élysées flagship, as our first London store and our newly renovated stores in Shanghai, Singapore and Wuhan, are sources of inspiration for our future renovations, as they illustrate our strategy and the experience we want to provide to our customers,” he said, adding Sephora also learns from other initiatives, such as its partnership with Kohl’s in the U.S.

“But there is no ‘template,’” said Motte. “Each of them must be meaningful locally and resonate with local communities.”

U.S. invested in homegrown system better suited for potential conflict in Pacific than in Middle East

Israel’s war with Hamas has revived dormant U.S. interest in producing munitions for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, U.S. Army and industry officials said, a development that would help a U.S. regional ally resupply for future conflicts.

Any U.S. manufacturer of Tamir interceptors would take months to get moving. But with Hamas and Hezbollah firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli military sites and cities every day, Israel’s stockpile of interceptor missiles is dwindling.

The new interest in production of Tamir interceptor missiles for the Iron Dome system comes two years after the Army passed over the Israeli hardware in favor of a U.S.-made system it deemed better suited for conflict in the Pacific.

Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system is one of the most battle-tested in the world, successfully destroying thousands of shells and rockets since its 2011 deployment and preventing mass civilian casualties.

“Iron Dome has proven itself over the years,” said Tom Karako, a missile defense researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s no slight that it can’t contend with an overwhelming number of threats.”

To help out, the U.S. Army is now sending back to Israel two Iron Dome units it acquired three years ago, alongside more than 200 Tamir missiles the U.S. had stored in its arsenal. The two units had been deployed after being tested in Guam.

The mobile Iron Dome is Israel’s last layer of air defense and can intercept targets up to 40 miles away. Each of the 10 batteries covers an area of about 60 square miles, and includes a radar and control system to identify incoming threats and fire only on those expected to reach populated or vulnerable areas, limiting how many missiles are required.

The Tamirs use a home-produced rocket motor that hasn’t suffered the level of supply-chain disruption that limited production of Javelins and the advanced guided missiles the U.S. has sent to Ukraine.

“They have a very capable military and they have their own stockpiles,” Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said earlier this month of Israel.

Meanwhile, militaries around the world, including the Pentagon and Israel, are moving to secure additional production of munitions. The vast consumption of artillery shells and guided missiles in Ukraine and of Tamir interceptors in Israel recently has honed defense officials’ focus on building “affordable mass”—a reliable arsenal of heavily used munitions.

In 2020, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and RTX Corp. announced plans to build a factory in the U.S. to assemble Tamirs.

But the following year, the Army passed over Iron Dome in favor of the Enduring Shield system made by U.S.-based Leidos, following a shoot-off in the New Mexico desert. Rafael and RTX’s new Tamir factory didn’t materialize.

The Pentagon’s push for more-sophisticated weapons and equipment to deter the perceived threat from China led the Army to favor the new U.S.-developed system seen as better able to tackle faster-moving cruise missiles over the bigger distances of the Pacific.

The Army called Iron Dome an interim solution and didn’t buy more than two, opting for the different capabilities of Enduring Shield, even though it has yet to be fielded.

“These are some of the growing pains of neglecting air defense for way too long,” said Karako.

Rafael and RTX declined to comment on Tamir production rates or on any new U.S. facility.

The Pentagon already funds much of Israel’s Iron Dome production and expenses under an existing agreement between the countries, which lawmakers have said was another catalyst for U.S. production.

RTX already makes around 70% of the Tamir, according to the companies, and has been investing heavily in expanding its missile facilities around Tucson, Ariz., which analysts said was one possible site for a Tamir line.

The Marine Corps is also looking to acquire some Iron Dome systems as well as around 1,800 Tamir missiles, according to budget documents.

Enduring Shield can be adapted to use other interceptors, including a version of the Tamir called SkyHunter.