Corner and shop-in-shop: what nobody tells you beforehand
Getting the location is one negotiation. Holding it technically is another: night-time installation, the store's specifications, fire resistance of materials. We carry both.
What a corner costs, and how the budget breaks down
Occupancy. In the great majority of cases, the host store takes payment and deducts a commission on turnover, in the region of 25 to 40% depending on the store, the floor area and the period. A location in December is not negotiated like a location in February. Some contracts work on a fixed rent, which is riskier for a brand that does not yet have a sales history at that point of sale.
Fit-out. It remains at your expense, and it is our part: from €15,000 for a simple corner to several tens of thousands of euros for a complete shop-in-shop with architecture, lighting and bespoke furniture. This item can be costed precisely as soon as the store's floor plan and specifications are known.
The decision is not made on Google
A department store corner or a shopping centre kiosk is not bought online. The decision is made with a specific contact: the specialty leasing department of the retail landlord, Altaréa, Apsys, Ceetrus, Hammerson, Klépierre, Mercialys, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, or the department manager at the department store. What they look at: the strength of the brand, the fit with the venue's customers, and the ability to run the operation without creating problems.
We prepare that application and we arrive at the meeting with a project that already holds up technically.
What we take on
- Location application: brand pitch, forecast, visual book for the store or the retail landlord.
- Compliant design: design of the corner within the venue's specifications: heights, materials, lighting, fire resistance.
- Manufacturing: bespoke furniture, pre-assembled and checked in the workshop so the installation night holds no surprises.
- Installation: loading bay slot, safety officer, night-time assembly.
- Life of the corner: visual refreshes, maintenance, seasonal changes, dismantling at the end of the contract.
Our locations in department stores and shopping centres
Birkenstock at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and at Citadium Caumartin, Champion at Citadium, Ann Tuil at Beaugrenelle, the 900.care kiosk at Forum des Halles, a kiosk at the Apsys Steel shopping centre in Saint-Étienne. Different contexts, different specifications, the same night-time constraint. See the projects in photos.
Shopping centre kiosk: different rules
In a shopping centre, the kiosk format plays out in the mall, in the middle of the footfall. Visibility is 360°, which rules out the back wall that a corner set against a partition can get away with. Circulation and evacuation constraints are tighter, and each landlord has its own technical specifications. Leases there have also become shorter, which opens these locations to brands that had no access to them ten years ago.
For a short, event-led operation, see insteadthe shopping centre pop-up. For a standalone temporary shop, it is the pop-up store agency.
Frequently asked questions
What we are asked most often about this service.
What does a corner at Galeries Lafayette or Printemps cost?
There is no public rate, and for good reason: the cost breaks down into two parts. On one side the occupancy, most often a commission on turnover (in the region of 25 to 40% depending on the store, the floor area and the season), sometimes a fixed rent. On the other the fit-out, at your expense, which runs from €15,000 for a simple corner to several tens of thousands of euros for a complete shop-in-shop. That second item is the one we cost precisely.
How do you get a corner at Galeries Lafayette or Printemps?
Department stores select on application: positioning, online turnover, community, ability to run the operation day to day. In a shopping centre, your contact is the specialty leasing department of the retail landlord: Altaréa, Apsys, Ceetrus, Hammerson, Klépierre, Mercialys, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. We help build the application, then we take on the whole fit-out side.
What is the difference between a corner, a shop-in-shop and a pop-up?
A corner is a sales space inside a host store, permanent or seasonal. A shop-in-shop is a corner taken as far as a defined brand environment, with its own architecture. A pop-up is temporary by nature. The fit-out constraints and the business models, commission or rent, are not the same.
Who takes payment for sales in a corner?
Two models. The store takes payment and pays you back, deducting its commission: this is the simplest for a first location, with no till or payment handling to manage. Or the brand takes payment with its own till, which is rarer and means taking on payment methods and staff.
What are the installation constraints in a department store?
Night-time installation, in a short and non-negotiable window. Prior technical validation of the furniture: weight, floor loads, materials and their fire resistance. Access through the loading bays at a booked slot. A safety officer on site. And a sign-off with the store teams before opening. Any one of these points can block an installation on the night.
Is a shopping centre kiosk the same job?
The rules change. The kiosk sits in the mall, in the middle of the footfall: 360° visibility, tighter circulation and evacuation constraints, specifications specific to the landlord. We install them regularly, including a kiosk at the Apsys Steel shopping centre in Saint-Étienne.