This photo of Galeries Lafayette is courtesy of TripAdvisor
PARIS - Live rock and roll is replacing recorded Christmas carols in the windows of Galeries Lafayette as the Parisian department store seeks to drum up curiosity, and client numbers, for this year's gift-buying season.
True to tradition, the shop is putting on a dazzling show for shoppers and tourists alike in the countdown to Christmas, but this year it is seeking to strike a chord with music-mad teenagers as much as fairytale fans young and old.
With a debt crisis forcing much of Europe into austerity, consumption has dropped in recent weeks, making crowd-pullers all the more important, even for upmarket stores that can count on a large tourist contingent in the heart of the French capital.
Rock legend Iggy Pop, bare-chested as always, has helped Galeries Lafayette get the show on the road, posing for photo fliers in red Santa hat and matching shoes in addition to his signature electric guitar.
The goal of reaching out to teenagers rather than toddlers is clear.
The opening weeks include nightly live shows in the window by a variety of major-label rock and folk bands, one from Mali, another from Australia and most of the others from France itself.
And apart from the live shows, furry creatures and fairytale puppets will give way this year to life-size mannequins in black leather to rag dolls draped in glamour garb -- all hand-made, hand-painted and more hard-edged than the customary annual display of smurfs, snowmen and abundant lovable puppets.
Galeries Lafayette, which first started doing its Christmas window shows after World War Two, says that this year's show was inspired by the increasingly close relationship between rock and fashion.
There are other good reasons.
French household spending dropped 1.3 percent in September versus the same month a year earlier and spending on clothing fell 7.3 percent, according to France's statistics office.
"Shoppers are so stretched at the moment that actually getting them into the stores is the first challenge," said Bryan Roberts, an analyst at Kantar Retail, an industry consultancy.
"Converting that shopper into a purchase is the next challenge." - Reuters
Part motorcycle, part toilet
TOKYO - Enter the Neo. Part motorcycle and part toilet, it runs on eco-friendly biogas produced from sewage -- and recently completed a journey of more than 1,000 km (600 miles) across Japan.
The three-wheeled vehicle, developed by Japanese toilet maker Toto, features a toilet for a seat and has a giant roll of toilet paper mounted on the back that flutters in the breeze as the bike cruises along.
But there are no plans to put the bike on sale. Toto intends to put it on display.
The biogas used as fuel for the Neo is produced from a combination of household sewage and livestock waste, broken down and fermented, company spokesman Kenji Fujita said.
"Although the seat of the bike is indeed a toilet, it is not for actual use. The fuel is eco-friendly biogas, stored in the tanks on the back," he said.
"It's a surprisingly nice way to travel."
The 380 kg (837 lb) motorcycle can run for a total of 300 km and reach speeds of up to 70 km an hour (45 mph).
Ichie Tanaka, one of six people who rode the Neo across Japan during the three-week, 1,400 km (870 miles) tour to promote biofuels, said she was relieved the journey was over.
"At first when I saw the bike, I was taken aback. But after riding it, I found it quite interesting," the 28-year-old said.
"It doesn't hurt at all and is actually quite comfortable to sit on." - Reuters
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