She re-blossomed last spring, leaving boulevard Arago behind for rue Grégoire-de-Tours, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Although the store may not quite be the small prince’s rose, she’s close: the boutique store is entirely dedicated to this recognisable character from the children’s book. Thomas Rivière, the great nephew of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is the shop's owner, and you might say that by moving the little Prince Store into one of these more touristy areas, the owner is playing more of a commercial game. Translated into more than 260 languages, The Little Prince is read by hundreds of millions of readers across the world, and there are many potential buyers. If you need convincing, take a look at the library bookshelf, which is generally flooded with differing dialects of this popular tale.
But the Little Prince products don’t stop with just books. Pens, notebooks (€7-17), snowglobes (€27), mugs (€12.5) and dolls. There are no limits to marketing on the back of this little hero. Ironic, given the book itself denounces exacerbated materialism in our society.
Aside from this marketing dimension which will annoy those who are genuine lovers of the tale, children (and their parents) lulled by the story will be without doubt desperate to decorate their rooms, inspired by the tale.