Celio unveils Paris flagship to redefine brand with mixed-gender concept

Celio is revitalizing its brand image with the unveiling of a new flagship store in central Paris, located on level -1 of the Forum des Halles shopping centre. The expansive 1,200-square-metre location will test a mixed-gender offer for the first time as part of a new store concept. This move positions the brand alongside other major retailers in the shopping centre, including Lacoste, Herschel, Finsbury, and Sandro, marking a significant step in Celio's strategic transformation.

Over the past five years, Celio has been working to redefine its "normal" universe since launching its "Be Normal" communications campaign. The brand has sought to attract new customers and surprise existing ones through dynamic capsule collections based on themes like manga and collaborations with personalities such as content creator Inoxtag and automotive influencer GMK. This new store concept, which redefines the codes of the Celio store, represents the physical manifestation of this ongoing transformation.

The first elements of this evolution emerged in summer 2024 when Celio president Marc Grosman and CEO Sébastien Bismuth inaugurated a store at the Euralille centre featuring a combined Celio–Camaïeu range. The new store concept moves away from the traditional red-and-white aesthetic, utilizing large shopfronts, ample light, open space, numerous mannequins, large screens, and natural materials. Following initial testing at Les Quatre Temps in La Défense, the concept has begun rolling out across the Westfield shopping centre network, with recent deployments at Westfield Aéroville and Westfield Val d'Europe.

According to Sébastien Bismuth, the Forum des Halles store represents a significant scaling up of this new concept. "This 1,200-square-metre store doesn't just reprise the codes of our concept: it evolves them, adapts them and enriches them," he said. Bismuth added that the Forum location is pivotal because it introduces the womenswear offer to a large Parisian footprint for the first time. He stated that this step affirms Celio's ambition to become a "global player" capable of serving all customers, men and women alike, with high standards and creativity, emphasizing that a concept should "never be set in stone or duplicated identically."

The foundations for the new concept were developed in collaboration with experts long associated with the brand, including Laura Chavy of Ateliers AUAV and Olivier Saguez of Saguez & Partners. The design philosophy aims for a "pared-back, elegant and structured environment" where omnipresent metal neutralizes the surroundings to enhance the visibility of product materials, colors, and cuts. Wood is incorporated into service areas to add warmth and comfort, creating a modern and accessible showcase. Amanda Desravines, senior consultant at Celio, described the concept as part of a "dynamic of continuous progress," reflecting a desire to offer customers greater clarity, modernity, and shopping comfort.

Pragmatically, management intends to leverage certain elements of the concept—such as metal fixtures, lighting, screens, and micro-architecture—to gradually align the existing network of 280 French stores with the ambience of these new outlets. This phased approach avoids the need for a complete store overhaul. The company is also banking on larger store formats to enable a deeper assortment, expanding in locations like Dijon, even as several stores in smaller towns were closed during the year. This strategy includes taking over a number of Jennyfer outlets to support the expansion.

The larger store strategy directly supports the presentation of different lines and further testing of the dual-gender potential, featuring Celio for men and Be Camaïeu for women. The womenswear offer was previously available in twenty Bi-store outlets under the Be Camaïeu banner, but the Forum des Halles location will provide greater exposure in a centre that attracted over 62 million visitors last year. Celio reported sales close to 600 million euros in 2023, confirmed slight growth in 2024, and continues to develop the brand in new markets. The group's logistics partner is scheduled to complete an expansion of over 12,000 square metres at its warehouse in the Oise region in early 2026, bringing the site to nearly 55,000 square metres.