In 1893, two cousins from the Alsace, Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, decided to open a shop selling novelty items in a small haberdashery, measuring just 70 m2, on the corner of rue La Fayette and rue de la Chaussée d’Antin in Paris.
Its location and the internal layout of the store, which encouraged customers to move along the aisles in straight lines, led to its name “Aux Galeries Lafayette”. Whilst the venture was a bit of a gamble, the store was in the perfect location near to the Opera and the Grands Boulevards. Crowds of Parisians and visitors from out of town spilled out of the neighbouring Saint-Lazare railway station, attracted by the businesses in the area.
In 1896, the company bought the whole building at number 1, rue La Fayette followed in 1903 by numbers 38, 40 and 42 on Boulevard Haussmann, as well as number 15, rue de la Chaussée d’Antin. The early years of the business were motivated by this “bricks and mortar strategy”, which resulted in an impressive acquisition of premises. All this was strengthened by its architecture, making it perfectly suited to the needs of commerce.
Théophile Bader entrusted the first major refurbishments of Boulevard Haussmann, completed in 1907, to architect Georges Chedanne. It was only really in 1912, however, spurred on by his apprentice Ferdinand Chanut, that the store began to take on a new dimension