Nouvelles Galeries

Nouvelles Galeries is a French department store owned by Galeries Lafayette, founded In 1897 as Société Française des Grands Bazars et Nouvelles Galeries. The chain previously had stores France-wide but now only has one location in Langon which is owned and operated by Galeries Lafayette.



History
On April 20, 1899, the brand was simplified into the French Society of New Gatherings, chaired by Nicolas Canlorbe, husband of the daughter of Charles Démogé, founder.

In 1928, the Nouvelles Galeries launched the popular  stores. The brand will be bought in 1997 by Monoprix, its competitor of the Groupe Galeries Lafayette.

In 1971, the Nouvelles Galeries launched the consumer credit card, and in 1979, the brand launched into insurance.

In order to face a tender offer, the Paris headquarters was sold (among other things) and the Nouvelles Galeries (including the headquarters' services) merged with the Groupe Galeries Lafayette in 1983.

At the beginning of the 1980s, the SFNGR group (Société française des Nouvelles Galeries réunies) was made up of around 160 city center stores (branches and affiliates) employing 25,000 people and had also developed the Centre Maison Jardin (CMJ) brand. which had up to 30 stores occupying the former warehouses of Nouvelles Galeries stores located in city centers. The « NG », Nouvelles Galeries, also developed a brand of fresh products (MIRBELL), another of dry products (MIRBEL) and a repair company for household appliances and electronics. In addition, an internal brand was created under the name « NOGAMATIC » (NOGA prefix of the name of the distributor Nouvelles Galeries). In addition, the Group created its own financial company (still in operation today). The former headquarters occupied a full city block at 66 rue des Archives in Paris (rue des Archives,, 1,000 people).

The group had set up, before 1986, a system of 3 common platforms to supply its 160 stores, located in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux, and had a company specializing in the importation of foreign products, « SONAC » - Company national commercial supply.

The headquarters of the Groupe Nouvelles Galeries (1980s era) had its own testing laboratory (food and all products combined - including electronics), its integrated printing press, its high-tech computer platform for the time. The Paris headquarters hosted collection presentations for all products sold in stores as well as the central purchasing office. The Groupe Galeries Lafayette gradually abandoned the brand and the last sixteen stores were sold in 1997. Some had already gone under the BHV brand as in Angoulême.

In 2005, while only 10 Nouvelles Galeries stores were still in operation in France, the general director of the Groupe Galeries Lafayette Paul Delaoutre announced the complete disappearance of the Nouvelles Galeries brand by the end of 2007.

In 2017, only Langon remains under the Nouvelles Galeries brand.

Incidents
On October 4, 1972, an individual shot at customers of the Nouvelles Galeries in Angoulême with a Winchester .44 rifle, killing four people (three children and a woman) and injuring six others.