Three private boutique bookstore players share the market

France. Position yourself in a strategic call for tenders, win a concession, optimize the profitability of a sales space… The museum bookstore-boutique sector has become a very dynamic market, structured by three major players: the GrandPalaisRmn, Arteum and La Boutique du Lieu. In this constantly changing landscape, evolution is not so much manifested in a trend towards outsourcing, which in reality only concerns a handful of institutions on the scale of the French museum sphere. However, a gap may open up on the side of new museums or private institutions, which sometimes opt for concessions. But for the rest, large establishments that wanted to outsource have often done so for a long time. The room for maneuver therefore comes into play when the concession contract is renewed: certain stores are taken over by competitors, others retain the same operator.

Historically, the GrandPalaisRmn (then Réunion des musées nationaux) acted as a monopoly. A pioneer in museum concessions, the public operator took a position in the sector in the 1990s, immediately managing – and still today – the boutique bookstores of the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Versailles… If it still places itself as a leader with its network of 37 boutique bookstores and a turnover of 63.7 million euros in 2024, private players have since gained ground and today stand out as serious competitors.

In 2007, Thibault Catrice, formerly at RMN, founded La Boutique du Lieu and won the call for tenders for La Piscine (see ill.) in Roubaix.“We then focused on the regional fine arts museum market, small spaces of 50-60 square meters. It was fairly unexploited territory at the time, with RMN no longer wishing to position itself in this niche”he relates. Then, La Boutique du Lieu obtained in turn the concessions of those of the Palais des beaux-arts de Lille (2010), the Louvre-Lens (2012), the Center Pompidou-Metz (2016), etc., to today operate a network of eleven bookstores-boutiques, generating 5.5 million euros in turnover in 2024. And despite a very regional anchoring, the company has entered the landscape Parisian in recent years, becoming manager of those of the Bourse de Commerce and the Museum of Hunting and Nature in 2021.“We are not looking to gain market share everywhere, but to follow interesting projects that motivate us, nuance Thibault Catrice. Above all, consideration is required regarding the distance from our head office (based in Croix, in the North). We must be able to remain effective in our exchanges with the team on site and partner institutions. »

Above all, it was the creation of Arteum that disrupted the Parisian market, until then dominated entirely by the Rmn. Founded by Lorraine Dauchez in 2008, the company positioned itself in the niche of museum boutique bookstores from 2013, first winning the concession for that of the Museum of Decorative Arts (MAD) – then managed by Galeries Lafayette – then those of the Cité des sciences, the Quai Branly, the Matisse Museum in Nice… A rapid progression which has now given it a network of thirty museum boutique bookstores, including Arteum generates a turnover of 40 million euros (half coming from points of sale at the Eiffel Tower).

But although the market has been redesigned, it remains limited to these three dealers and leaves little room for other players. One of the most notable declines remains that of local bookstores: less able to manage a multi-product universe, they rarely offer their service providers. The L’Armitière bookstore is no longer a concessionaire for the bookstore-boutique of the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts; Sauramps is no longer at the Fabre Museum in Montpellier. The Maupetit bookstore had handed over the reins of that of the Mucem in Marseille to Actes Sud, itself replaced by Arteum since. An exception: La Galerne, which continues to bring its expertise to MuMa in Le Havre. And at the Palais de Tokyo, the choice was made to entrust the management of the boutique bookstore to the German bookstore Walther König and the publishing house Cahiers d’Art. The advantage of having chosen a bookstore and a publisher is to be able to offer a complete offer, adapted to an art center”estimates Marianne Berger-Laleix, deputy general director of the Palais de Tokyo. It nonetheless remains difficult to keep up with the large operators.

100,000 to 300,000 visitors minimum

In fact, the rise of private concessionaires has had a clear impact on the rates charged. Between 7 to 10% of the store’s turnover ten years ago, the royalty paid to the museum has increased significantly with competition:“Today, it varies between 12 to 18% of turnover”believes Lorraine Dauchez.“We are on lower royalty rates for regional museums, which goes without saying given the difference in attendance with Parisian museums,” specifies Thibault Catrice. Thus, the rivalry is mainly between the two leaders in the sector. Recently, Arteum took over the concession of the Petit Palais bookstore-boutique at the GrandPalaisRmn, and was entrusted with that of the Catacombs. For its part, the GrandPalaisRmn took over that of the Army Museum, also winning the Cité de la musique and the Philharmonie de Paris.

Little space for small bookstores

“ This percentage is a proposal that we make at the time of the call for tenders. We need to find the level of royalties that allows us to maintain an economic balance,” explains Virginie Perreau, sales and marketing director in charge of the boutique bookstores at the GrandPalaisRmn. Several parameters then come into account: the museum’s attendance, its geographical area, its visitors and its purchasing power, the location of its shop, its size, the staff necessary for its operation, etc. “It all depends on the royalty conditions, the level of charges… But if a store generates less than €500,000 in turnover, it is still complex to operate it. You also need a certain amount of space to be able to express yourself, I would say that you can do something good from 60 m²,” specifies Lorraine Dauchez. In terms of attendance, we are more likely to have a minimum of 300,000 visitors, even if we can be profitable below this threshold. It all depends on the turnover per visitor. » She adds: “ To lower this threshold, we offer more global support. It is these complete management projects, where we can pool, which allow us to support smaller sites and open up in the region. » Going beyond the Parisian perimeter requires a change of approach, a completely new strategy. “ In the regions, the profitability of boutique bookstores is much more linked to temporary exhibitions, underlines Thibault Catrice. We are generally in places frequented by at least 100,000 visitors. But our performance indicator is the visitor basket. If a point of sale does not generate a minimum of €200,000 -250,000, we cannot be profitable. »