News

The Carwalk Renault: a tool for fostering emotional connection.

17 April 2026 by Flora

Open until 9 June, the Carwalk Renault has taken up residence on the Champs-Élysées as a hybrid space combining exhibition, dining and retail. The Lemens & Partners team visited the venue as part of their retail tours.

As soon as you enter, the space makes a striking impression with its sheer scale. Spanning several floors, the brand presents a vision it describes as a « visionary concept ».

First and foremost, the exhibition showcases a number of iconic models. The Renault Twingo, conceived in collaboration with Sabine Marcelis, a Dutch artist and designer, created in 2023 to celebrate the model’s 30th anniversary. Or the Renault Suite N° 4, designed with French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, a nomadic car conceived in the spirit of a hotel suite. Two collaborations that say a great deal about how Renault views its own brand culture.

The layout of the space naturally guides you towards the café-restaurant, then on to an area dedicated to the works of Icelandic painter Erro Gudmundur. This collaborative project with the brand reinterprets automotive culture through Renault models using pop art figures. The top floor is dedicated to relaxation: vinyl records to listen to and free-to-play arcade machines offer a leisurely way to round off your visit.

The brand’s latest models are on display throughout the exhibition, but never in an intrusive way. And for those who’d like to take home a souvenir, The Originals Store offers accessories, toys, clothing, miniatures and even a Renault-branded coffee machine.

Le Défilé Renault - Retail Tour - Lemens & Partners

Renault isn’t trying to sell cars here, at least not directly. The Carwalk Renault is, above all, a tool for building an emotional connection. People stay there, linger there, and come back. And that is precisely where the brand gains something far more lasting than a simple transaction: it gains the visitor’s emotional attachment to the brand.

By showcasing its heritage through artistic collaborations and iconic models, Renault is transforming retail into a canvas for expression. Pop Art meets automotive culture, the showroom becomes a gallery, and the brand leaves a lasting impression on visitors that goes far beyond the product itself.

This sends a strong signal to all brands wondering about the future of their physical retail operations.

Retail tours have become essential for tracking trends, innovating and drawing inspiration. Lemens & Partners analyses global retail movements through the lens of your strategic challenges, observing what works elsewhere to help shape the retail of tomorrow.

We design and lead bespoke retail tours with our international experts. The field is an endless source of ideas.

Get in touch to organise your next retail tour.

Airports: a brand’s playground for capturing attention in minutes

13 April 2026 by Flora

As part of our retail tours, the Lemens & Partners team recently visited several airport retail spaces. What we observed is well worth sharing.

Airports are places like no other. Millions of people pass through them every year, every nationality, every generation, every social background. Some wander unhurriedly for an hour; others rush through the terminal towards their gate. In this environment, brands have only a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes, to make their presence felt.

What struck us on our most recent visit is that the smartest brands are not simply trying to sell. They are trying to leave a mark.

Marc Jacobs x Murakami: catching every eye

The collaboration between Marc Jacobs and artist Takashi Murakami floods the space with colourful, smiling flowers. You do not need to know the brand to stop in your tracks. The art direction does all the work, instantly. This is one of the most valuable functions of design in retail: creating a universal hook that reaches well beyond the usual target audience.

Marc Jacobs - aéroport Orly Paris Retail Tour

Hermès: turning a moment into a memory

On its stand, Hermès offered an unexpected experience visitors could draw onto a card using a pencil “gun”, producing a tattoo-like effect on paper. No purchase required. Just a moment, a gesture, and an object to take away or leave behind. You walk off with something physical and an emotion attached to it. That, in itself, is a masterclass in retail.

Nuxe: a four-step beauty routine, in an entirely pink world

Nuxe transformed its space into a full-on pink studio, giant teddy bear, boxing gloves, lockers, and a clear message on display: “Create your Nuxe workout routine.” Four steps, four products, one promise. The universe is immediately recognisable, the approach both playful and educational. Within thirty seconds, you understand exactly who the brand is and what it stands for. That is precisely the strength of well-conceived retail: qualifying its audience as quickly as it attracts them.

Le Marché Parisien (The Parisian Market): selling a cliché, selling a memory

A customised yellow Citroën 2CV, lavender, vivid colours, French products front and centre. For a traveller in transit through Paris, this stand distils, in just a few square metres, everything they imagine France to be. It is not simply selling a product, it is selling a taste-memory, a story to bring home. In an international airport, this kind of deeply identity-driven storytelling is remarkably effective. Whether it is a biscuit or a French chocolate, it offers the last opportunity for a visitor to bring a piece of their journey back to the people they love or simply to themselves.

Le marché Parisien - aéroport Orly - Retail Tour

These four examples, very different in their approach, share the same conviction: in a transit space, experience takes precedence over transaction. Whether through an artistic installation, a creative workshop, an immersive universe, or cultural storytelling, the brands that stand out are those that have designed their space as something to be lived not merely a shelf to be filled.

At Lemens & Partners, we support you in two ways.

Our bespoke retail tours allow you to explore the finest brand experiences from around the world to fuel your strategic thinking, inspire your teams, and identify trends before they become mainstream.

Our creative recruitment missions help you find the talent capable of conceiving and embodying those experiences within your organisation.

Two approaches, one shared conviction: the brands that make a difference are those that invest in creativity and in the right people.

Retail tour, recruitment, or simply a conversation? Get in touch: contact@lemensandpartners.com

Creative Recruitment in 2025: A Strategic … Pause?

4 March 2026 by Flora

The year 2025 has been particularly challenging for the creative recruitment market. Few positions are open, and when they are, processes tend to be long, uncertain, and often frozen midway. Decisions are delayed, approval layers multiply, and leadership teams hesitate.

In an unstable economic and geopolitical environment, hiring becomes an adjustment variable. Historically, creative functions design, image, communication are often among the first to be put on hold.

Yet recent history tells a different story.

Companies that continue to invest in creativity and design are often those that navigate turbulent periods most successfully. Groups such as Decathlon, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel have never viewed creativity as a cost, but as a strategic lever. The same dynamic can be observed among Chinese automotive manufacturers like BYD and NIO, which have invested heavily in design, user experience, and brand to accelerate their international expansion.

In times of uncertainty, their ability to innovate, assert a strong vision, and strengthen their desirability makes the difference.

Pausing creative recruitment may secure the short term. But in the medium term, it weakens a company’s ability to differentiate, reinvent itself, and capture attention.

Paradoxically, 2025 also offers a window of opportunity. Competition for top profiles is less intense. Talent including senior professionals is more open to discussions. Companies with a clear vision, a streamlined decision-making process, and the courage to move forward can recruit profiles they might not have been able to attract during more competitive periods.

As a firm specialized in creative roles, we see this every day: in complex phases, it is not the most cautious organizations that gain the advantage, but those that know how to invest at the right moment.

The market is slower. But it is not at a standstill.
And top talent does not wait indefinitely.

At Lemens & Partners, we have been supporting companies in the luxury, fashion, retail, and automotive sectors for over 20 years in identifying and recruiting their creative talent.

We know these profiles inside out. We build long-term, trust-based relationships with them, and we understand how to identify the individual who will truly make a difference within your organization.

If you are considering a hire now or in the coming months, we would be delighted to discuss it with you.

→ contact@lemensandpartners.com

Lemens & Partners – Recruitment firm based in Paris.
Creative recruitment in France and internationally.

How Are New Brands Integrating into the Parisian Market?

27 February 2026 by Flora

Founded at the end of 2024, Firn is one of those young brands that has moved quickly into the Parisian market. By the end of 2025, it had already opened two boutiques, in Le Marais and on Rue Montorgueil. Two high-footfall districts that are particularly sought after by emerging premium yet accessible brands.

Behind Firn bring a strategic partnership with Dr Fred Zülli, a pioneer in cosmetic research who has worked with major luxury houses. This choice is central to the brand’s strategy: to build on strong scientific legitimacy from the outset.

The range focuses on skin regeneration. The message is clear, direct and easy to understand. Firn reassures through science.

The brand offers effective products at accessible price points by reducing traditional marketing costs. Firn stands out through three key pillars: transparency, expertise and fair pricing.

The boutique, designed by architect and designer Rudy Guenaire, perfectly reflects the brand’s DNA.

The universe evokes the mountains, more precisely the Alps. The name “Firn” refers, in Old English, to compacted snow, a material formed from ice and snow in transformation. It is a direct metaphor for skin regeneration.

The space is neutral, with rounded edges and curved lines. The packaging follows the same logic, with soft shapes and clean visuals.

Firn integrates into the Parisian market through strong scientific consistency and an immersive yet minimalist retail environment. The brand positions itself between scientific luxury and contemporary accessibility.

Founded in 2025, L’Entropiste operates in a completely different segment: unisex luxury fragrance, made in France.

The name “Entropiste” refers to entropy, disorder and chaos. The boutique, located in Le Marais, embraces these codes, with dominant shades of red and black. The atmosphere blends glamour, tension and controlled disorder.

Within the retail space, paintings echo the fragrances. The boutique becomes an art gallery. Customers do not simply come to purchase a perfume; they come to experience it.

The window display attracts, challenges and intrigues. It invites passers-by to stop. In a neighbourhood saturated with brands, this ability to capture attention is strategic.

The fragrances are unpredictable, surprising and full of character.
L’Entropiste does not aim to please everyone. It aims to leave a mark through a strong artistic direction, a powerful philosophical narrative, retail conceived as a manifesto, and the novelty that sparks curiosity.

L’Entropiste embraces contrast and character, attracting a clientele seeking exclusivity, emotion and identity.

Firn and L’Entropiste illustrate two different ways of integrating into the Parisian market:

Firn relies on science and accessibility.
L’Entropiste focuses on art, chaos and luxury desirability.

In both cases, retail is central, conceived from the outset as a strategic tool for establishing the brand within the market.

We design and lead bespoke retail tours with our international experts. The field is an endless source of ideas.

Get in touch to organise your next retail tour.

What Lemens & Partners took away from its latest Retail Tour in Madrid

17 February 2026 by Flora

Madrid once again proves its retail dynamism. Across a range of locations from heritage brands and luxury houses to emerging labels, Lemens & Partners observed powerful concepts where design actively supports brand positioning.

On: performance brought to life

The Swiss brand On, founded in the Alps in 2010, has opened its flagship store on one of Madrid’s main avenues.

The space is minimalist, dominated by grey tones and glossy materials. The product takes centre stage. The shoe wall is designed like a library, with each model presented according to three clear criteria: cushioning, stability and responsiveness.

The message is straightforward: performance is explicit. Retail becomes an educational tool that reinforces technical credibility.

Loewe: the store as a cultural home

Founded in 1846, Loewe embodies Spanish artisanal heritage.

At Casa Loewe in the Salamanca district, the boutique feels more like a gallery than a traditional shop. Artworks, natural Spanish materials and carefully staged products create an immersive experience.

Every design element reinforces the brand’s identity, luxury rooted in craftsmanship and art.

Fashion accessories are integrated into three-dimensional displays that showcase the handbags like sculptural pieces.

Loewe sells heritage, craftsmanship and artistic culture. At a time when luxury must differentiate itself, the brand strengthens its cultural capital. The store becomes a brand manifesto.

Adolfo Domínguez: retail as a tool for renewal

The Spanish brand Adolfo Domínguez, founded in 1950, has been evolving its retail concept since 2021.

Garments are suspended in space. Natural materials dominate. Local artists contribute to the scenography.

The store feels open and breathable, reflecting a return to essentials and a more contemporary repositioning.

Retail Tour Madrid El Corte Inglés Givenchy

Retail Tour Madrid El Corte Inglés Miu Miu

El Corte Inglés: strong brand identities within a department store

Often compared to Galeries Lafayette in France, El Corte Inglés brings together many international fashion houses. During our visit, several worlds coexisted — two of which Lemens & Partners highlights:

Givenchy: the runway spirit
Sculptural figures evoke the staging of a fashion show.
The corner becomes almost theatrical, allowing the brand to express its couture universe even within a department store.

Miu Miu: an intimate lounge
Here, the atmosphere is completely different. Carpeted floors, pale blue walls and four armchairs facing one another create the feeling of a private salon.
The mood is calm, almost domestic.
Even within a large retail environment, the brand succeeds in creating a distinctive and intimate universe.

Gimaguas: minimalism and light

Founded in Barcelona in 2018, Gimaguas embraces radical simplicity.

Its Madrid flagship is white, bright and almost futuristic. The glossy ceiling reflects the space, while textured flooring and metal structures reinforce the minimalist aesthetic.

The clothes stand out strongly against this neutral backdrop.
The décor steps back to let the silhouette take centre stage.

Gimaguas speaks to a generation drawn to imagery and visual purity. Minimalism creates an “Instagrammable” yet highly recognisable environment.

Byredo: a journey through materials

Byredo’s boutique tells a story through space.

A red horse immediately catches the eye, referencing Sweden, the brand’s country of origin. Wooden shelving evokes Canada, while aluminium fixtures recall Italy.

Each design element suggests travel, culture and inspiration. The store becomes a visual narrative. Retail transforms into a powerful storytelling tool.

Retail tours as a driver of inspiration

We design and lead bespoke retail tours with our international experts. The field is an endless source of ideas.

Get in touch to organise your next retail tour.

Valentine’s Day: A Platform for Retail Experience and Brand Strategy

11 February 2026 by Flora

As Valentine’s Day approaches, many brands are already activating their in-store communications. This period is becoming a powerful lever for customer experience, emotional connection and retail differentiation. In Madrid, several brands perfectly illustrate this shift through immersive window displays, emotional storytelling and interactive activations. Valentine’s Day is now positioning itself as a strategic moment within the commercial calendar.

One of the key elements widely used by brands is emotion.

Some brands, such as Havaianas, rely on video content displayed in their shop windows, telling the stories of different couples wearing their products. The objective is to create identification, immerse consumers in real-life moments and associate the brand with positive emotions.

This type of storytelling transforms a simple product into a symbol of connection, relationship and shared memories. In retail, emotion becomes a powerful driver of purchase.

Beyond visual merchandising, some brands no longer use their windows only to showcase products, they invite customers to interact.

Lonbali, for instance, installed red envelopes outside its storefront that passers-by can open to discover cards inside. A simple yet highly effective gesture, as it creates curiosity, encourages people to stop, take photos and share the experience, while generating a playful and engaging moment.

vitrine pretty ballerinas madrid saint valentin

Every year, this period also brings back the universal codes of Valentine’s Day, red hearts, love messages and warm visual atmospheres. These strategic elements anchor brands within a key commercial moment and trigger immediate emotional connection. When repeated along an entire street, they create a seasonal environment that naturally encourages impulse purchasing.

The Carwalk Renault: a tool for fostering emotional connection.

Airports: a brand’s playground for capturing attention in minutes

Creative Recruitment in 2025: A Strategic … Pause?

How Are New Brands Integrating into the Parisian Market?

What Lemens & Partners took away from its latest Retail Tour in Madrid

On: performance brought to life

Loewe: the store as a cultural home

Adolfo Domínguez: retail as a tool for renewal

El Corte Inglés: strong brand identities within a department store

Gimaguas: minimalism and light

Byredo: a journey through materials

Retail tours as a driver of inspiration

Valentine’s Day: A Platform for Retail Experience and Brand Strategy

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