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Interview with Marianne Lesimple, marketing and sales director of the Rmn-Grand Palais


The bookshops-shops of the RMN-Grand Palais. A network of bookshops and boutiques of cultural institutions unique in the world


What is the RMN-Grand Palais?

An important cultural actor under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture that contributes to the knowledge and dissemination of the museographic heritage. Through his exhibition policy, he works to expand and renew the public. As part of his commercial missions, he runs 34 boutique bookstores in cultural institutions in France and abroad.


In which museums are the boutique bookstores located?

In museums such as the Louvre, Orsay, the Orangerie, Cluny, the Picasso Museum, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the Center Pompidou, Versailles, also in the regions of Lyon, Nice, Grenoble, Ajaccio and abroad (Louvre Abou Dubai). We also operate an online shop and our resale business allows us to be present in many shops in France and abroad.


Since when does the merchant’s site exist?

Since 1999, Rmn-GP has continued to develop boutiquesdemusees.fr, through an offer of 8,600 references and 140,000 products shipped per year. Since 2021 we have been hosting the emblematic products of international museums, the Rijksmuseum, the Moma, the Van Gogh Museum, the Prado … We have a large and very busy community on social networks.


What products are there in the stores?

Our mission is to reach international visitors, from first time visitors to repeat customers.

Our offer is rich with a strong weight of bookshop activities, with reference art libraries.

I will also highlight 3 categories invested for several years with excellent returns:

  • Jewels, with in particular the Stolen Jewels that highlight the ornaments worn by the models on the paintings. We also work with contemporary designers such as Jean Michel Ohtoniel, who take another look at the collections.
  • Young people, and our two stars of the moment: the BarbaLouvre line developed with TF1 Licensing and the Louvre Museum, and the Playmobil Napoélon.
  • Stationery, a key sector, accompanies each exhibition through 100% European (French and Italian) productions

  • Do you follow the rhythm of the exhibitions to offer new references?

    We accompany museums in their exhibition programs. We take care of the merchandising of the offers and, for the Musée du Luxembourg, we redesign the shop for each exhibition.


    Why buy a branded item?

    By passing through a boutique bookshop, the visitor wishes to extend his visit experience.
    The purchase of an object stamped with the museum visited takes on an “official” character, it is a cultural guarantee, a guarantee of quality and origin. So, when you buy a molding from our molding workshop (EPV), you are guaranteed to acquire a reproduction made by taking an imprint on the original, and not a cheap copy, made in China.


    What are the plans for the RMN-Grand Palais?

    We continue to develop gift ranges with French brands.
    At Versailles we have just launched the Herbier du Roi collection with Maison Baluchon, soon we will unveil our new collaboration with Papier Tigre at the Louvre and Confiture Parisienne has just entered the Orsay stores. At the heart of our concerns is also the promotion of the know-how of local businesses, especially regional museums.
    We are also reinforcing all eco-responsible approaches along the entire creative chain.

    Participating with our products and our activities in the dissemination of culture to all is our primary ambition, and guides all the projects we carry out within the RMN-Grand Palais.

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