Tiffany & Co said Monday it plans to open a multi-storey megastore in 2014 on a prime location — currently occupied by a fast food restaurant — on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.
The firm — showcased in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” starring Audrey Hepburn and which this year celebrates its 175th birthday — already has a store in the French capital in the upscale Opera district.
Its new site — a 976-square-metre (10,000-square-feet) premises at number 62 on the fabled avenue — is currently used by an outlet of the Quick restaurant chain to sell burgers and French fries.
The Champs Elysees hosts millions of tourists every year and sports a growing number of luxury outlets like the flagship Louis Vuitton store and US clothes retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Banana Republic.
“Establishing this store on the Champs Elysees will be the ultimate symbol of Tiffany as a truly global luxury brand,” said the firm’s executive vice president Frederic Cumenal.
The company currently has shops in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
Its biggest shareholder is Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which has a 5.2 percent stake in the retailer known for its diamond rings and blue, ribboned boxes.