Since Barneys closed its stores in 2020, New Yorkers have been pining for a successor to the iconic luxury retailer. Printemps New York, the French department store’s American outpost, appears to be filling the void. From its creative displays and fixtures to its spacious layout and even its demographic mix of locals and out-of-towners, Printemps seems to be focusing on a customer base that made Barneys legendary in the city before the deadly combination of too much debt and too little management killed it off.

As with its former American counterpart, the emphasis is on fashion and beauty, but home plays a small role in Printemps, which opened last March in Manhattan’s financial district. In fact, this assortment has grown since its doors opened, with an emphasis on tabletop, gifts and the always ubiquitous candles. And the space itself, created by French interior designer Laura Gonzalez, has drawn plenty of design aficionados to Wall Street.

Mind you, it’s still early in Printemps New York’s existence, and lots of things could go wrong—not the least of which would be its Qatari investors losing patience in the U.S. outpost—but for now, it seems to be fitting into an unoccupied niche in the highly competitive and still-overstored Manhattan retail scene.

With 55,000 square feet spread out over two floors of a historic 50-story former bank headquarters, the Printemps footprint adheres closer to a Barneys specialty format than typical department stores, which often measure out at 100,000 square feet–plus—sometimes much more plus, as in the case of the million-square-foot Macy’s flagship on Herald Square.

At its opening, the company’s French management went to great lengths to avoid calling it a department store and instead focused on its apparel offerings, multiple restaurants and bars, and its omnichannel presence in the North American marketplace. The centerpiece of the store is the building’s landmark Red Room, an enormous space covered in red and gold mosaics that was formerly the bank’s reception area and now displays high-end shoes. Though the rest of Printemps is less dazzling, it’s decorated to the nines throughout.

Most of the home offerings occupy an area called the Curiosity Corner, much as Barneys started its home merchandising efforts in what it called Chelsea Passage. And like the erstwhile retailer’s, the assortment is focused on giftware, drinkware and other tabletop from brands like Ginori 1735 and Maison La Bougie, with a healthy dose of coffee-table books mixed in. Candles are featured both here and in the beauty section, which cleverly resides in what could have been an awkward passageway from one part of the store to another. Brands here include Baobob Collection, Hellenist and Diptyque.

Other home categories—like textiles, furniture and soft decorative accessories—are not represented in the store or on its website. Again, the Barneys mix was not much different.

On a frigid Tuesday afternoon, Printemps was surprisingly busy, and one could hear many different languages being spoken in its vast halls. Anecdotally, salespeople have said they’ve seen a nice balance of locals and tourists in the store since it opened. And while there were certainly a fair number of sightseers strolling, there were just as many visitors who appeared to be serious shoppers, trying on clothing and footwear and buying beauty products.

When Printemps opened, many were skeptical of whether the odd location—not exactly a robust retail shopping neighborhood—combined with the unfamiliarity of the brand would prove too difficult to overcome. Other foreign retailers, ranging from Japanese jewel box Takashimaya to U.K. grocery giant Tesco have failed to crack the American market.

That could eventually be the outcome for Printemps, but it is off to a promising start. Though it may never quite be Barneys, it’s the closest thing New York has seen in a very long time.

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Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories.