STIMULATE OUR BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
The successive shutdowns due to restrictions and lockdowns and the collapse of international tourism have had an unprecedented impact on all our business activities. In spite of this context, new projects emerged: 44 new publications were completed and some catalogues, such as the Pompeii exhibition catalogue, were very success- ful. In the autumn, the Guide du Patrimoine Près de Chez Vous, the result of a partnership with the Fondation du Patrimoine, encouraged the French to rediscover emblematic sites all over mainland and overseas France. Despite the temporary closure of several of our commercial spaces, the new Constitutional Council shop, entrusted to the Rmn - Grand Palais to operate, was completed and opened to the public on 15 December. Our e-commerce site boutiquesdemusees.fr was a growth driver throughout the year, with a 42% increase in turnover compared to 2019. This site leads customers naturally to the products pro- duced by our art studios and has notably gener- ated a 60% increase in online sales of prints. 3D-related developments continued in 2020 in our art studios with one fortuitous benefit: our craftworkers were able to produce protective shields for health-care workers during the first lockdown. Turnover for the photo agency amounted to 2.6 million in 2020. Over 80,000 new photos were added to the agency s base, which now has a cat- alogue of 1.4 million photos.
ADAPT OUR RESOURCES
A rapid reorganization of our activities was made possible by changing a certain number of our practices. The large-scale recourse to working from home led us to revise our agreement in this area and deploy numerous tools to facilitate col- laborative working and communication. Our IT departments were mobilised to deploy the hard- ware required for remote working and ensure that our information systems continued to function smoothly throughout the year. The health context did not put a stop to our on-going awareness-raising actions: the Rmn - Grand Palais thus obtained a score of 99/100 on the French government's Gender Equality in the Workplace Index as a result of all the actions car- ried out internally.
While 2020 was plagued with disruptions of all sorts and despite all the dramatic events that occurred, it was nonetheless an opportunity to accelerate the process of modernising our or- ganization. The crisis we are going through will bring lasting changes to our cultural practices, to the public s expectations and also to the way we devise and carry out our projects. It has also re- minded us of how essential daily contact with art is for all. This turning point will help us innovate and enable us to dream of what museums can offer society in the future.
Chris Dercon President
Emmanuel Marcovitch Deputy Director General
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