Paris La Défense's economic fabric is diversifying into new sectors
Traditionally home to the headquarters of major industrial, financial and consulting groups, Europe's leading business district is now attracting a whole new range of industries, including pharmaceutical laboratories, retail, higher education and luxury goods.
As elsewhere in the Paris region over the past two years, Paris La Défense has witnessed a transformation in real estate demand, and has been able to adapt its offering accordingly. The diversity, flexibility and value for money of the real estate on offer, as well as its exceptional accessibility by public transport and the modern living environment offered to users of the district, are all assets in attracting new users. As a result, company profiles from a wide variety of sectors have joined Paris La Défense in recent months, including:
- Retail : Alain Afflelou (Trinity), C&A (Le Colisée) ;
- Medical & Pharmaceutical Laboratories: Siemens Healthineers (Canopy), Les Laboratoires Bouchara Recordati (Hekla), Les Laboratoires Grunenthal (Pacific), Kyowa Kirin Pharma (Aurore) ;
- Luxury goods: Christian Dior Couture (Alto), Kering (Cœur Défense), Pandora (Alto);
- Higher education: after the 2022/2023 start of ESCE (Cœur Défense), ICN (Collines de l'Arche) and IESEG (Collines de l'Arche), ESUP and QUEST have started the 2023/2024 academic year (Terrasse Bellini) at La Défense;
- Associations: Habitat et Humanisme (Le Palatin);
- Other sectors: Costa Croisières and Hey Car (We Work), MaiaSpace (Les Villages 2), CIRCANA (Trinity), Lefebvre Dalloz (Akora).
Video testimony to the Afflelou group's move to Paris La Défense .
To find out more about the business sectors present at Paris La Défense
Diversification at every level
While demand from companies has remained steady, it has changed since the end of Covid. They need less surface area, and are taking longer to think things through before making a commitment. Paris La Défense's offer has therefore been adapted to enable SMEs and ETIs to set up in the area, thanks to the divisibility of surface areas as soon as a building is delivered.
If the sectors have diversified, so too have the origins of the companies. By 2022, 50% of the companies that set up in Paris La Défense were from outside the district, and 20% of them from Paris.
At the same time, coworking specialists are also making a comeback, with Work and Share and Morning respectively setting up workspaces in the Franklin and Légende towers.
To find out more about the advantages of Paris La Défense
