If you want to open a store in France, it’s a good idea to first understand the country’s unique business practices.
The biggest difference from looking for a store in Japan is that not only do you have to sign a lease with the landlord, but you also have to purchase the business rights ( fonds de commerce) that come with the store, or the lease rights ( Droit de bail) that come with the store. Business rights and lease rights are purchased from the previous tenant, and these rights can be resold if you later decide to sell the store. It may be easier
to understand if you think of both business rights and lease rights as “buying the right to operate a business of any type.”
When searching for a store in Paris, the first thing you’ll have to consider is which area to open it in. Paris is home to a diverse mix of people of all races, and the customer base varies greatly depending on the area. Even when it comes to boutiques, there are a wide variety of options: the 16th arrondissement if you’re targeting elegant ladies, the Marais district if you’re targeting tourists with a new concept brand, or Saint-Germain-des-Prés if you’re targeting Paris’s fashionable, wealthy customers.
First, walk around Paris on foot and decide which area’s customer base is best suited to your business, and then your search for a property will go more smoothly.
It is also necessary to carefully consider the property depending on the type of business you will be operating in.
In Paris, stores such as boutiques and restaurants are both located on the ground floor of buildings, with the upper floors being used as residences or offices. Therefore, each store has its own set of permitted businesses. For example, if the building management association’s regulations state that “restaurants cannot operate in basement stores,” then you cannot operate a restaurant in that store.
Also, to operate a full-scale restaurant that uses gas, you will need an exhaust chimney extending from the store to the roof of the building, so you will also need to check this property.
Commercial properties have deep ties with the building’s residents, including issues such as noise, waste, and hygiene. Negotiating rent with the landlord and changing contract terms can also be very complicated.
To avoid major problems later on, we recommend that you first ask our professional real estate agents to help you find a property.
Finally, because we have partnered with several local French real estate companies over the years, we can introduce properties that are not listed on our website at the time of actual viewing.
The first consultation is free of charge, so please feel free to contact us.