Demystifying the Frenchiverse
Cristina Carmona Aliaga
Passionate about London, creativity, films, music, books, and languages. And I also write about them.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that every French language student anywhere in the world has both formulated the question “What is the point of French grammar if there are only exceptions?” and found themselves at the receiving end of “What do you think about French people?”
Like every other French language student, I have learned that "it is the way it is" is a perfectly acceptable answer in either case, if one is to avoid international conflict.
Admit it, you too have thought of clichés.
The French are always on strike – not true. The fact that I was affected by the strike last week, that my colleagues from Europe travelling to Paris the following day were affected by the strike, and that our CEO who is now in Paris has also been affected by the strikes means that the French are a true democracy - strikes for all.
The French are reluctant to change – True, they still had paper tickets for the Paris métro until quite recently and I used that in my favour when presenting to clients, but there's the Navigo card now.
The French often are not as adventurous when it comes to business – but again not everyone can be innovating, that comté is not going to milk itself out of the cow.
The French don’t speak English and you need to speak French if you want to do business with them. Total outrage, I know. What is this, the XVIII century?
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And yet, as I trust you all know, clichés are subjective and relative, never to be taken for categorical truths.
In 2019 most of the above could still be applied to French companies I was working with. I remember meeting a French ecommerce company at Slush and after I had introduced myself, the business developer manager told me he wasn’t looking to come to the UK because they were based in Northern France and they were only interested in selling to the UK, not in having a presence in the market.
Fast forward to last week. I was in Paris for 24 hours to host a dinner with a selected number of guests to discuss the retailtech space in France. On that same day, Sephora -the French beauty giant- was opening its doors at Westfield in London after a 17 year-absence from the UK market. People queued for an average 3 hours to get into the shop and a woman travelled all the way from Paris to be the first one to enter.
This was a perfect icebreaker for our dinner guests to elaborate on how French tech companies and retailers have caught up with the times and are now at the forefront of innovation when it comes to delivering personalised consumer experiences. And in fact, last week, Vogue Business published a piece highlighting the juxtaposition of NFT Paris and Paris Fashion Week, maybe a hint at the city’s ability to attract the intersection of Web3 and fashion and prove French audiences, and brands, are slowly moving away from their traditional risk aversion.
Points that were perfectly exemplified at the Metaverse, Web3 and NFT session part of the Les Jeudis de La Retail Tech that I joined the following day.
From Carrefour launching a supermarket on the metaverse and selling NFBees (yes, a play on NFTs to raise awareness on the key role bees play in the ecosystem) to DECATHLON FRANCE using Web3 and NFTs to build a community around sports and using technology to deliver in-store experiences, Intermarché producing a digital twin of their shops thanks to Retail VR technology to manage stock and get shop insight in real time, or Maison Berger Paris - emosia Group and Wilkins Avenue AR collaboration where they launched an Instagram live with AR avatars that interacted with the audience, our neighbours across the channel are delivering some of the most interesting solutions when it comes to creating engaging and new ways to connect with consumers.
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And that’s good news for the UK too. This new wave of French tech companies are all about international expansion and growth and the UK consumer is open to experiment and embrace new tech solutions, so this can be a match made in heaven, as I shared recently on an article for Business France where I discussed the strengths of the London ecosystem for retailtech and ecommerce.
In fact, in the past two years London has welcomed two French unicorns: Ankorstore , a marketplace that supports independent brands and retailers with a curated offer; and Back Market , a key player in the circular economy that promotes the use of refurbished technology. Both companies have found a welcoming market in London as their offer is perfectly aligned with the consumer behaviour trends that we are observing in the UK, where there is a willingness to embrace novelty and discover new brands, but also a greater conscience about the impact of our shopping choices on the environment.
I’m sure we can expect great things from our neighbours across the channel and I am looking forward to welcoming a French retailtech delegation that will be visiting Retail Technology Show in April as part of a Business France mission to support innovative companies to expand internationally.
Finally, as for having to speak French as a requirement when dealing with French people, I’m going to cite David Sedaris, my guru on this topic, and like him I can only say that me talk pretty one day
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