Printemps in vogue
By Yayu & Jean
Photos by Yao Fan


Name: Stephen Doe
Nationality: Canadian
Position: General Manager and Director, Printemps China Department Store, China

任何一个走过中山路的行人都不会错过巴黎春天百货门口的巨大条幅"关爱绿色, 关爱地球". 今年巴黎春天百货推出的主题是"绿色通道, 真情服务", 还特别安排形象大使真诚服务顾客. 前不久还在世贸店举办"水资源图片展". 巴黎春天百货进驻厦门已有七年. 他们有何奥秘坚守高端路线? 如何引领厦门时尚呢?

As an image shop for top brands, Printemps China is at the pinnacle of fashion trends at home and abroad. Its products include women's and men's wear, children's wear, leather goods, fine jewellery, cosmetics, shoes and accessories, sporting goods, and so on. With its excellent facilities and strong customer-oriented service culture, the store is indisputably the primary shopping spot of Xiamen.

Tiny things, immeasurable effects

Q:This year the theme of Printemps China is "Green channel and warm-hearted service." Could you further explain the policy?

A: It is a fact that Xiamen is known countrywide for its great achievements in environmental protection, and as the No. 1 shopping store of this beautiful city we are obligated to do our part.
As its platform, Printemps China is promoting the value and importance of environmental protection to its customers through visual demonstrations and by setting a good example.

The progress will be slow and gradual but we hope all these changes will add up to a torrent and if everyone does his part in protecting our environment, we will have a much better place for our children to live in.

Q: Why did your company take this action since environmental protection obviously cannot bring direct profit?

A: It has been 7 years since Printemps China set up its base here, and doing our part for the people and society is our way of saying thanks and repaying the indebtedness to the good people and city of Xiamen, which have made our business so successful.

We chose it as the theme for this year to join with voices all over China that our environment is deteriorating to a critical stage. Changing people's minds to be environmentally conscious takes time and we feel the starting point is now. Don't underestimate the will of the Xiamen people in a good cause. Before you know it, schools and families will join in and we will turn this city into an even better place to live in. Besides, an environmentally friendly Xiamen is good for our business since more businesses and people will be attracted to this city which means more business for us.

Q: From your point of view, what are the qualifications for a successful top manager? Can you make some comments on your own style of management?

A: Running a company requires both an excellent working team and able talents. First of all, a company should create a good platform to attract talent. Every staff member should show confidence in the company and interest in their work. What we need is not a machine but actively participating staff members with their own views.

To err is human, but repeating the same mistake is a good indicator of incompetence, which we cannot ignore. We will provide a stage, incentives, expectations and guidelines for every staff member to demonstrate their talent and ability. Experience will be gained out of mistakes and adjustments made afterwards. However, if you go beyond the limit again and again, please leave right away as it is unfair to others. Also, it demonstrates that this position doesn't suit you either and you should find a more suitable job to fulfill your mission in life.

Action is more important than words. An outstanding leader should have foresight and not be affected by individual feelings. Most certainly, a leader has to consider others' opinions comprehensively before making a decision.

As for an ambitious youth, we help him set a realistic career goal with our company and help him to achieve it - with patience, compassion, tolerance, understanding, encouragement and proper incentives. Everyone needs to improve and develop. I am willing to share with my staff what I know so that they will be ready to fill my shoes once I step down for whatever reasons.



Fashionable yet affordable

Q: As an image shop for top brands, Printemps China is always keeping abreast with the latest fashion trends at home and abroad. Unfortunately, quite a large group of consumers consider goods in Printemps as luxurious and too expensive for them.

A: I'm not sure if that represents the impression of the majority, and if it is, then we are greatly misunderstood. We are not selling "expensive" merchandise. We are selling prestigious merchandise at affordable prices. Certainly, you can buy 10 mundane shirts for RMB 200 and nobody will notice, but you can also buy a prestigious brand shirt for the same RMB 200 and instantly you are elevated to that social status you want to be identified with - classy, with good taste and elegance, successful, and "cool." Besides, the consumption ability of Xiamen is rising rapidly and what was "expensive" yesterday can quickly become "affordable" today.

Many international renowned brands may not be that well-known in the local market, and it is part of our job and service to introduce those brands to Xiamen consumers. We are proud to say we are already home to over 300 top brands at our department store and in many cases we are the only location for that brand in the city.

Naturally brand products go hand-in-hand with good value and prestige, and we believe in due time customers will come to accept them and pay the prices they demand. Our image shops with their top brands are friendly and approachable places and are different from shops at star-level hotels which ordinary people might be afraid to go into.

Attractive Xiamen, bright future

Q: Why did you choose Xiamen as your career location?

A: Xiamen was my first stop in China ten years ago. At that time I firmly believed Xiamen had a promising future, so I chose this city for a new start in my career.

In early 1990s the living environment was not so comfortable in China compared to the standard of developed countries. But I was still young then and was fairly happy to experience a developing China. I am glad to be here to witness the great progress of China. Compared with some coastal cities in China, Xiamen is more attractive, especially in regard to its living environment. Good policing and the fresh air here are top among all the cities in China, and the real estate market here is booming, which means a better future for our company and for me.

Vocabulary
indisputably 无可争辩地
deteriorate 恶化
abreast 并肩地
mundane 平凡的