While the summer sales were scheduled for June 23, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire said Thursday he wanted to postpone them to June 30.

This new date has yet to be formalized by the Minister in charge of SMEs Alain Griset. 

The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire wants the summer sales to start on June 30, instead of the 23 as planned so far, he said on Thursday.

Noting that the postponement of the summer sales last year was not a good thing for all traders, he considered "wiser not to excessively postpone the date of the sales (...) I propose that it is postponed to June 30, "said the minister on France Inter.

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This new date will be formalized quickly by the Minister responsible for SMEs Alain Griset, said Bruno Le Maire.

The sales period is scheduled so far from June 23 to July 20.

"Take advantage of the rebound in consumption"

"We talked a lot (...) with the representatives of the traders, with the big brands. I know that a lot of small businesses say that we have to delay the sales. What I see is that (... ) last year they were postponed to mid-July, the result was not convincing, "he argued.

At a time when household consumption is rebounding with the reopening of shops, the minister estimated that not shifting the sales too much would make it possible to "take advantage of this rebound in French consumption".

A crucial issue for businesses

The minister did not mention the track put forward last week by Prime Minister Jean Castex according to which the government was studying the possibility of introducing a territorial differentiation for the sales period. 

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The issue of sales is a crucial issue for many businesses, while many have stocks left over from several seasons, due to the Covid-19 epidemic.