The winter sales, which began on Wednesday morning, arouse great expectations among small traders, who hope to start 2021 under better auspices than 2020, marked by two confinements and an imposed closure of several months in the face of the health crisis.

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With the winter sales that started Wednesday morning, traders hope to save their season.

In Bordeaux, the shops in the city center are already showing very significant reductions, both to sell the stocks that were not sold during the last containment, but also to attract customers and catch up with a little of the catastrophic turnover of the past year.

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Significant discounts, ranging from 40 to 70%, are displayed in the windows of rue Sainte-Catherine, from the first markdown.

In particular in clothing stores, like the one Benoît holds: "This year we find ourselves with a lot of stocks, between 20% and 30% more merchandise," he explains.

"There is a lot of pressure on these balances. I really hope that it will work, even if we close an hour earlier. I know that online business is exploding. Me, I do not. We will see, we hope that there will be solidarity, ”he slips.

"We have to play the game thoroughly for the sustainability of small businesses"

Masked and bundled up, cleaning their hands with hydroalcoholic gel from one store to another, Véronique and Myriam started the sales as soon as they opened.

"The prices are affordable. We know that Sainte-Catherine Street and all the stores have suffered enough. We must play the game to the max for the sustainability of small businesses," said one of the two friends.

“As I'm in the restaurant business, I don't have a job, so I got up earlier. I took advantage of the fact that many stores open very early to be able to do the sales quietly,” adds the second.

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Wednesday, it was not the crowd of great days in the streets of Bordeaux, but many traders maintain the hope of seeing customers have fun and spend the money they saved during the confinements.