3 questions for . . . Rasmus Michau, co-founder of The Bureau

Multi-talented Rasmus Michau has a reputation not only as a confirmed night owl but also as an organiser of the most popular soirées. In the daytime hours he’s busy creating projects that are always in tune with the times. From BonjourBonjour, a geolocalized dating/meeting app launched in 2012 to Hmm!, an events agency targeting the luxury sector, created in 2006 and renamed Hopscotch in 2015. This agency was the starting point of the online magazine SayWho.fr about “the people who make Paris” (Mr Michau still owns 28 percent of shares). This past January, with ex-trader partner Laurent Geneslay, he opened The Bureau, a new generation of co-working spaces in Cours Albert in the 8th arrondissement. Their objective: create an attractive work space with a chic address and services worthy of a palace concierge.

What did you want to create with The Bureau?

I wanted to create the office of my dreams. I wanted it to be beautiful and pleasant to be in, a place to work, of course, but also where I could eat well, and go to a bar or a workout room. I wanted there to be interesting people who would be real office buddies I could interact with and even create projects with. In a lot of co-working spaces you can feel alone since each person works in their allotted space. In the beginning, we didn’t really choose the people who came to work in our space. Now that we’re full, we’ve set up a waiting list and we’ve decided to set up a balance between professions to avoid making an industrial ghetto. We’ll choose profiles that are in sync with the project and share its values, rather than choosing business plans.

Today The Bureau makes neighbours out of a real estate professional, lawyers, an investment fund, an online art gallery, Snapchat France, and even a jewellery designer who uses recycled plastic.

Providing services seems obvious in Anglo-Saxon countries, but in France don’t you think it’s still a private matter? What developments do you foresee in the mid-term?

Today in Paris if you’re managing a small business and want a chic address, it’s not clear how to make that happen. These small structures are our typical targets. We offer contracts with a three-month minimum and one-month notice. Our system allows real flexibility if, for example, you need a meeting room or to bring in extra people to work on a project from time to time. I don’t think France lacks services. That’s an old cliché. Today, in restaurants and café-bars, the public generally gets a warm welcome compared to other capitals.

Our idea was to focus on a strong welcoming atmosphere and premium services by choosing to pool our assets. That’s possible because we have 300 work stations. We think that’s a good size for economic reasons, but especially to maintain a human scale. Our level of services is perfect for small structures. We didn’t invent anything. Our service offer is close to what’s standard in upmarket hotel structures. From that angle, you could say we offer a hotel approach to commercial real estate. We’ve brought together different sectors. A journalist for ELLE magazine called The Bureau a “boutique office.” That’s a good interpretation of our attitude.

As far as our projects, we’re looking for new buildings in Paris. We want to develop a co-working network in different neighbourhoods. It’s the same principle as the Club Med Gym. If you’re a member, you can go work at Bastille or Saint-Germain according to your meetings and your schedule. Next, we want to expand the concept to different European capitals. The Bureau has 2,500m2. In three years we’re counting on 20,000m2 spread between several spaces in Paris.

You’re quite familiar with the fashion sector, what do you think of its evolution?

There’s a very dynamic fashion scene in Paris. I’m thinking especially of Wanda Nylon, Andrea Crews, and Pallas. However, I also think it’s a difficult profession. The multi-brand boutique model that brands based their growth on is now practically non-existent. Today you need a lot of capital to open your own points of sale. The big brands continue thanks to their distribution networks. We observe, in fact, that even when designers leave a brand, the store network remains and sales are generally unaffected. The Kooples’ success happened thanks to numerous stores and communication campaigns, meaning significant capital. Before, Japanese multi-brand stores could, almost by themselves, guarantee the first seasons of French designers who were starting out. Now that’s no longer, or very rarely, the case. Some, like AMI or Editions MR, are successful, but those examples are rare.