Coronavirus: the French clothing sector is suffering the brunt of the crisis

Text by: RFI Follow

The coronavirus crisis has repercussions on trade and in particular on clothing brands in France. China is today the leading supplier of French fashion brands. 25% of imports for all companies in the sector whose concerns relate to the supply of the next collections.

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“ The impact of the coronavirus is not so much for the spring-summer collection, which is already in store. For restocking during the season, it comes more from the markets, therefore from Eastern Europe or the Mediterranean basin , ”first wants to qualify Yann Petiot, director general of the Trade Alliance. It represents department stores and fashion, clothing and footwear stores, representing 27,000 points of sale in France and 180,000 employees.

But the leader of the Alliance du Commerce wants to emphasize " the real problem that arises today ": the fall-winter collection. It "begins to be in store during the summer sales, that is to say, at the end of June. "But to keep to this calendar," it is necessary that [these garments] leave their place of production, that is to say in China or Asia , around mid-April ", specifies Yann Petiot. It is at this moment that everything is playing out: production is underway for the fall / winter collection. " So any delay that is taken with the shutdown of factories in China will cause delay in the delivery of products for the next collection. "

Many business owners are anticipating fallback solutions to source elsewhere than in China, but there is a bottleneck, points Yann Petiot. “ Everyone turns to the same alternative solutions, so there is an effect of insufficiency and capacities, too. And then, we do not know today where the virus can spread, if another country, tomorrow, will have to be closed ... So it is very difficult, in this context, to predict a new chain of '' supply in such short time. "

Drastic drop in store traffic

Another disastrous effect of the coronavirus for fashion and clothing: the lack of Chinese tourists in Paris. A phenomenon reinforced in recent days by the appearance of the Covid-19 on French territory. In the capital, shopkeepers in the Opera district are seeing a drop in the number of French customers. Professionals in the sector fear a movement of collective fear.

Example rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, a shopping street usually very busy because it leads to department stores. But at the end of the morning, walkers are rare. The manager of a ready-to-wear brand is sorry. Customers have deserted the neighborhood since the start of the epidemic.

“ Coronavirus for us is a huge impact, ” she says. The Lafayette galleries too, which is a very attractive point for fashion, it is a little deserted too. So the whole Chaussée d'Antin is affected. You see, since this morning, we only had one person who entered the shop. "

Normally, this manager sees " twenty " clients every day. But these days, it's more like " a person ", which for her is " catastrophic ".

New crisis after the Yellow Vests and the strike against the pension reform

Some brands show a 30% drop in attendance. Yann Petiot, managing director of the Alliance du Commerce, warns of financial risk. “ Commerce has been going from crisis to crisis for two years. We had the yellow vests crisis, which continued right at the start of last year. We ended 2019 with the strikes in transport [against the pension reform editor's note] , which resumed in January… And there, we are re-experiencing a new crisis with that of the coronavirus. So today, it is a crisis which is added to the crisis, and therefore difficulties which are added to the difficulties already experienced by this company. "

This Monday morning, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, warned: " The impact of the coronavirus on French growth will be much more significant ." The minister also announced government support for sectors affected by the epidemic. "We will show total solidarity with all the entrepreneurs who today are on the front line"

In addition to the support measures announced by Bruno Le Maire, the fashion and clothing sector is requesting cost reductions to face the crisis.

► Read also: Coronavirus: a “new step is taken” in France

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• France
• Fashion
• China
• coronavirus

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