Klépierre inaugurates EUR 160m St.Lazare mall in Paris

French shopping centre landlord Klépierre is this month opening its landmark St.Lazare shopping centre located at the entrance of Europe’s second most trafficked railway station.

Winner of the competition launched by railway group SNCF in 1996, Klépierre signed a 40-year occupancy permit with SNCF in July 2008, which allows it to operate the retail area in Paris' oldest station. The group invested nearly EUR 160 mln in the project, which is opening fully let generating annual rents of EUR 13 mln. The scheme provides a net initial yield of 8.2%

The 10,000-m² shopping mall is expected to strongly benefit from a daily footfall of nearly half a million travellers coming from the Parisian suburbs. It includes around 80 shops including three mid-sized retail units, Carrefour City, Virgin and Esprit, which is launching a new store concept of over 1,000 m².

The scheme will host a number of new tenants, such as Europe's first Muji To Go store, a new concept from the Japanese brand that is already present in major international airports. Dutch department store chain Hema will open its eighth store in France at St.Lazare following their first opening at Klépierre’s Millénaire last year.

'St.Lazare Paris features a retail offer that combines utility - composed of food shopping and services - with pleasure, including a culture and leisure retailer, and a broad range of retail names in ready-to-wear and beauty,' commented CEO Laurent Morel.