Mulberry to close Paris store as slashed tourism hits another capital
Mulberry will close the doors to its Paris store until international tourism returns, the luxury brand said today.
Exiting the lease early at its 275 Rue Saint Honoré store, slashed tourism numbers due to pandemic restrictions has seemingly hit Paris much like it has hit London.
The brand will bag net proceeds after tax of around £10.8m to bolster the company’s cash position and support investment opportunities, it said in a statement.
Mulberry said it plans to open a new store in Paris once tourism is closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Shares in the luxury brand opened higher this morning, climbing 1.6 per cent to 305p per share.
London’s retail, hospitality and theatre sectors have also taken an economic hit with slashed tourism numbers.
Although footfall has begun to increase in central London over the past few months, it still rests well below pre-pandemic levels.
Canada and Westminster MP Nickie Aiken said last month that: “Right now, our great capital is asleep, and I would like the government to consider a robust and ambitious plan to reawaken it and bring it roaring back to life.
“A huge part of that involves helping our theatre industry and in turn all the surrounding restaurants, shops and hotels – the ecosystem of our beautiful global city.”
The tourism dependant theatre industry and airline industry have been particularly vocal about the impacts of reduced tourism numbers.
However, reduced footfall with online shopping surging has spelled trouble for many of the UK capital’s bricks and mortar retail and seemingly Paris’ too.