diff --git a/src/libstore/local-store.cc b/src/libstore/local-store.cc
index 150c4b766..54136bf9f 100644
--- a/src/libstore/local-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/local-store.cc
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ LocalStore::LocalStore(ref<const Config> config)
     Path gcRootsDir = config->stateDir + "/gcroots";
     if (!pathExists(gcRootsDir)) {
         createDirs(gcRootsDir);
-        createSymlink(profilesDir, gcRootsDir + "/profiles");
+        replaceSymlink(profilesDir, gcRootsDir + "/profiles");
     }
 
     for (auto & perUserDir : {profilesDir + "/per-user", gcRootsDir + "/per-user"}) {