GAL LAFAYETTE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Support for the Digital Transformation and Innovation plan of the Galeries Lafayette.

The digitalisation project will support the Promoter's efforts in transforming and expanding its business. The improvement and rollout of platforms and tools based on innovative technologies will also enable the simplification of the organisation and processes and will contribute to improved operational efficiency.

The project will support Galeries Lafayette, a leading French department store operator, in its digital transformation programme, aiming at strengthening and expanding the omni-channel offering, and adapting business processes to the new customer trends and needs.

The project activities generate positive knowledge and technology externalities, through the creation of innovative processes and services and through skills development and upgrading. It addresses the market failure of imperfect competition, as it contributes to expanding the competitive space for new technologies and helps to mitigate the competitive disadvantage of companies with outdated digital technologies requiring transformation. The activities will involve a number of small expert companies in Europe, facilitating the accumulation and diffusion of knowledge within the European industry.

Investments in Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence are aligned with EU policy objectives (e.g. Digital Europe Programme, Europe's Digital Decade: digital targets for 2030) and key to strengthening the competitiveness of the sector. The project contributes to the Bank's Policy objective "Innovation, Digital and Human Capital".

EIB's involvement provides a highly flexible financial product to the borrower, allowing it to diversify its financing sources, lengthen its average debt maturity and strengthen its overall financial position, at a crucial point in time as the Borrower's operations are facing the negative consequences on the Covid-19 in addition to a structural challenges to its key markets.

EIB's financing thereby provides a signalling effect on the soundness and quality of the Borrower's digitalisation project, facilitating funding from other financiers. 

During project preparation, the services supported the promoter in structuring the operation in order to align it with the digitalisation policy objectives. The project monitoring will require annual reporting. The promoter has established ICT capacities, and is capable of implementing the project without technical assistance or other support. 

The project activities do not fall under Annexes I or II of the EU Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU. In addition, the project activities are expected to be carried out in existing facilities that are already used for the same purposes and that are not expected to change their scope due to the project. As such, the project activities are not subject to a mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The Promoter has been assessed by the EIB as being a private company not subject to EU rules on public procurement or concessions. However, if at the project appraisal, the EIB were to conclude that the Promoter is subject to the EU public procurement legislation then the Bank would duly inform the Commission Services and would require the Promoter to apply those rules.