The toy sector, which achieves nearly half of its turnover over the Christmas period, is scrambling to try to reopen stores as quickly as possible.

"We ask the government to consider the toy as an essential category", calls Christophe Salmon, boss of Mattel France, at the microphone of Europe 1. 

INTERVIEW

As Christmas approaches, toy professionals are redoubling their efforts to try to convince the government to allow them to reopen their stores.

The stakes are high: the sector achieves nearly half of its annual turnover in the months of November and December.

"We ask the government to consider the toy as an essential category and to allow the reopening of specialized stores and hypermarket shelves", calls Christophe Salmon, boss of Mattel France, guest of Europe 1 Wednesday. 

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To be able to reopen as quickly as possible, the sector is ready to bend over backwards.

During a meeting last week at the Ministry of the Economy, professionals in the sector made many promises to Bruno Le Maire: "Further limit the number of customers in stores, offer appointments, extend opening hours ... These measures would allow us to open up while being responsible ", supports Christophe Salmon.

According to information from Europe 1, however, the government is not considering any easing for the moment. 

"The idea is to relieve congestion by reopening as soon as possible"

But with 77% of stores completely closed, “click and collect” solutions will not suffice to boost turnover or absorb demand.

For Franck Mathais, spokesperson for JouéClub, the reopening of stores is also a matter of common sense.

"To allow us to open on November 13 is a wise measure. The longer we wait, the more we will have a large number of people who will have to do their shopping in a short period of time. The idea , it is rather to relieve congestion by reopening as soon as possible. "

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In the event of non-reopening, another problem could be added to the congestion of shops: the lack of stock.

Christophe Salmon warns: "As a manufacturer, I still have 40% of the volumes to deliver at the end of the year. The later we reopen, the more difficult the organization will be. There is a logistical emergency. If we do not reopen, there is a risk of shortage. "