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Bonpoint does not advertise, so the stores and their whimsical windows are the main way of communicating with customers. None have had more impact than the 12,000-sq.-ft. Left Bank flagship at 6 Rue de Tournon, which opened last April, says Eric de Montgolfier, a managing partner at Edmond de Rothschild. The store, which Bonpoint executives claim is the largest luxury children's shop in the world, occupies the ground floor of a 17th century hôtel particulier and winds around a large neat garden to a newer wing. Shoppers and their parents wander through parlors with fireplaces, moldings and parquet de Versailles, and the 300-piece collection is deployed throughout. Boys' clothing is in the back, shoes are up the stairs, and there's a VIP room for celebrity clients. Children head straight for the playhouse in the center of the main parlor, and nearly everyone stops to gawk at the flower bed growing from the ceiling. The average purchase at the store slightly tops Bonpoint's $200-a-customer standard, but is way shy of its most profitable store, on Paris' Avenue Montaigne, where customers buy outfits in multiples—one for every house they own. Plus, the new store has attracted a different clientele and generated tremendous press coverage. When the restaurant opens downstairs in December, it will be the closest that a shopping experience could possibly come to an afternoon at a French auntie's country château. "The opening of Tournon radically changed outside perceptions of the brand," says de Montgolfier. "It leaves no doubt that Bonpoint is a true luxury lifestyle brand."
Surprisingly, in the scramble by luxury houses to identify new categories for development, children's wear has been neglected compared to hot sectors like home interiors or watches and jewelry, despite optimal demographic trends. In developed economies, parents are having fewer children and having them later, but as a result they are spending more lavishly on them. Industry insiders talk about the "six-pocket" syndrome in which an only child is spoiled not only by his parents but also by both sets of grandparents, who are living longer and are wealthier than ever. In fact, many high-profile women's ready-to-wear brands offer children's wear—Christian Dior was the first, launching Baby Dior in 1967—but they are typically produced under license by outside manufacturers and rely heavily on the brand name and logo. They are very successful in the gift category but offer a limited number of pieces.