Saint Laurent puts up winning €1 million bid for rent of retail premises in heart of Milan

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jul 13, 2018

The city of Milan must be rubbing its hands with glee. The starting bid price for the rent of the 82 m2 retail location in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade was €131,000 per year, and French luxury label Saint Laurent, via the SL Luxury Retail company, offered €1 million. The Kering group's label won hands down the 18-year concession for these retail premises with one single shop window, enabling Saint Laurent to enter what has always been regarded as Milan’s most exclusive showcase.

The renowned shopping arcade, linking the Duomo cathedral to the La Scala opera house, features some 50,000 m2 of retail space, owned by the city of Milan. Only part of this area is actually occupied, and renovation work for its upgrade has been ongoing for a few years. Located right in the heart of the city, it attracts 22 million visitors per year, notably from China, the USA, France, Japan and Taiwan.

The four other bidders, footwear brand Moreschi, eyewear group Luxottica, jeweller Damiani and the Richemont luxury group, offered between €200,000 and €400,000 for the annual rent, according to Italian media. In other words, they stood no chance after Saint Laurent made its offer. By comparison, Italian celebrity chef Carlo Cracco, not far from the location in question, pays the same sum of €1 million offered by Saint Laurent … for a five-floor restaurant.

Saint Laurent is apparently willing to invest significantly in its retail network. It also took over the premises in rue Saint-Honoré in Paris which were occupied until recently by the famous Colette concept store, for a sum which is also likely to be rather large.