Citynove continues to roll out its project to create a new "city center" around Annecy Galeries Lafayette
Citynove, the Galeries Lafayette Group’s real-estate asset management division, is further ramping up the real estate transformation program currently working on around the Galeries Lafayette Annecy store, with the ambition of bringing together a community of people passionate about their craft who want to share their expertise with as many people as possible.
In naming the project, Citynove chose to relaunch the “Nouvelles Galeries” brand in recognition of the location’s past and the name still used by people in Annecy, where the Galeries Lafayette store will form the heart of this downtown shopping destination, surrounded by a series of complementary businesses curated to offer a comprehensive range of services.
Consequently, Citynove has recently brought on a number of new local partners specialized in catering as well as services related to sport, health and wellness.
These new partners include Vincent Favre-Felix, the Michelin-starred chef from Annecy who inaugurated his new bistronomic restaurant named “Maison Favre Felix”; All Triangles and Artline, who joined forces to open “Atome”, the first climbing wall in the city center for climbers, sports lovers and families coupled with a bistrot run by “Les Canailles”; “Mi Amici della Alpi”, which offers a contemporary version of the traditional Italian trattoria and a tasty fresh pasta bar; “La Tanoue” a modern and local creperie; as well as one of the city’s largest organic food markets, “Bio Frais”.
Visitors will also enjoy a number of exciting surprises and new developments. For example, they can dive into a creative digital universe in an immersive experience hub displaying artwork signed by the TeamLab, a collective of world-renowned young Japanese artists; the first physical store operated by the online women’s health and beauty marketplace “Gapianne”; as well as “Bonjour Jacob”, a concept store that offers a blend of specialized magazines, objets d’art and its very own café. Other talented, active members of the local community will also be present with the arrival of “Blomeko” an environmentally responsible flower workshop, and the “Bazar sans frontières” a thrift shop that is also the first non-professional reintegration project in the Haute Savoie region. Citynove has also created a design and exhibition space run by the Wondervision studio, in partnership with the Ecole Supérieure d'Art Annecy Alpes and the Haute Ecole d'Art et de Design de Genève. These synergies serve to promote and engage local artists and designers on issues such as upcycling and reusing materials.
The real estate complex, designed by the architect Manuelle Gautrand and interior designer David Thulstrup, with input from the designer Sabine Marcelis and the artists from the TeamLab, will open its doors to the public in June 2022. On this occasion, Galeries Lafayette Annecy will also unveil a store of nearly 15,000 m², completely reinvented.
“We are delighted to see the original concepts and people passionate about their craft occupying the spaces we are
developing around the Galeries Lafayette Annecy store. We want to offer everyone a place where they will enjoy spending time, discover a different way to shop and take advantage of a variety of services that reflect the way our lifestyles and consumption habits are changing, where we combine responsibility and pleasure.”