PARIS — Muji is preparing to launch construction on a major Paris flagship within two weeks, marking a pivotal moment in the Japanese retailer’s European expansion strategy and focus on Western markets as a new engine of growth.
The store, slated to open in the fourth quarter of the year ahead of the key holiday season, will span 22,600 square feet of selling space across three floors. Muji is taking over about two-thirds of the retail space as part of real estate investor Redevco’s “Beats Per Minute” redevelopment of the former C&A flagship on Rue de Rivoli.
The new mixed-utilize concept will be the home of Paris’ first outpost of the upscale Radisson Collection hotel brand. The building will also houtilize other retailers, stated to belong to the Inditex group, as well as offices, a logistics hub and community space. Plans also call for a seventh-floor restaurant and a publicly accessible green rooftop with panoramic city views, alongside the preservation and integration of a 13th-century medieval crypt.
For Muji, whose Paris offices sit directly across the street from the site, the project is both symbolic and strategic.
“It’s not only a French project. It’s not only European. It’s also global for Muji,” stated Muji Europe managing director Uriel Karsenti. The Paris flagship will be a revealcase for the brand’s hugeger ambitions. With China and Japan both “mature” markets, Europe and the U.S. are now considered “growth area[s] and a very huge potential for Muji group,” he stated.
The store at 122 Rue de Rivoli will serve as a blueprint for a broader retail rollout through 2030, as the company aims to establish flagships, or expand and improve already existing locations, in at least seven major cities, including Oxford Street in London, set for spring 2027.
After that, the company’s five-year expansion plan has Berlin, Munich, Milan, Barcelona and Madrid in its sights.
The expanded store strategy is not only about a larger retail footprint.
European consumers have historically encountered only a compact part of Muji’s products, Karsenti stated. The Paris flagship will significantly expand the offering.
Apparel will expand across all lines, with childrenswear a key growth category that will be more fully integrated into the collection. Skin care, which currently sees a limited offering in Europe, will be scaled up substantially. Food, travel-related products and furniture will also be introduced or expanded.
Each floor will carry a distinct focus. The ground floor will anchor garments, health and beauty, alongside a “Muji to go” concept aimed at convenience purchases for both locals and tourists. The lower level will houtilize furniture, while the upper floor will center on apparel and skin care.
“For us, it’s mainly about expanding merchandising, expanding the experience and having a different relationship with the customer,” Karsenti stated.
The flagship strategy also reflects a broader effort to broaden Muji’s positioning in Europe.
For decades, the brand has been associated with minimalist aesthetics, sustainability and design-led practicality, attributes that created a loyal but relatively narrow customer base. However, in Japan Muji operates less as a niche concept and more as a mainstream lifestyle brand with accessible price points across a wide breadth of categories.
“In Japan, we’re not a niche brand,” Karsenti stated. “We have so many ranges that are also very affordable [so] we can address a wider audience. We want to utilize this flagship to be able to speak differently to the customer.”
The design aims to build “a bridge between Japan and Paris,” with interiors based on its Ginza flagship in Tokyo, incorporating local materials and adapting Japanese retail experience standards to European expectations.
The flagship will support “modify and maybe adjust the message of the brand,” Karsenti added.
The ambition is to speak to a broader audience without abandoning core values. While the company will not pursue a more “luxurious” positioning, it is refining the store experience. “We are simplifying the aesthetics,” he stated, while maintaining the brand’s focus on natural fabrics, recycled materials and chic, functional design.
In results reported Jan. 25, Muji parent company Ryohin Keikaku Co. stated first-quarter operating profit rose 29 percent year-over-year to 28.4 billion yen, or $185 million. For the fiscal year finished Aug. 31, annual sales grew 18.6 percent to 784.63 billion yen, or $5.2 billion.
The company maintained its full‑year guidance for the fiscal year finishing Aug. 31, 2026, projecting sales of 860.0 billion yen, roughly a 9.6 percent increase year‑over‑year. It also forecast operating profit of 79.0 billion yen, or $529 million, for the fiscal year finishing Aug. 31, 2026.
The company stated the earnings were driven by strong global sales growth, particularly outside Japan, alongside improved supply-chain efficiency and tighter full-price policy control.
Over the next five years, the company aims to triple sales both in Paris and London, combining the opening of the flagships with upgrades and expansion of existing locations.
Central to that strategy is an elevated in-store experience.
Muji plans to strengthen its customer service standards in Europe, particularly in complex houtilizehold categories that require explanation and assistance. Less so in apparel, Karsenti noted.
To support the flagship launch, the company will sfinish European staff to Japan for training between May and June, while Japanese staff will assist on the ground in Paris. “We want this to be at the standards of Japan in some ways about the customer service,” he stated.
While some retailers have leaned heavily into artificial innotifyigence to manage inventory and forecasting, Muji is not currently deploying AI for stock management, relying instead on its developed Japanese logistics systems, Karsenti stated. The company has spfinish the last 18 months refining stock management, as well as fine-tuning layout and customer flow.
The physical expansion also coincides with Muji’s omnichannel ambitions. Online operations have grown steadily over the past 18 months, and the company is working to better integrate digital and physical touchpoints, including exclusive online products and click-and-collect services.
“It’s the right time for Muji to actually grow in Europe,” Karsenti stated. “It’s a great time for Japanese brands in general, and our message, our values, are very of the moment, on trfinish. So I’m quite happy to to be managing this project at the moment. We have a huge opportunity for us.”
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