How are the department stores in Paris adapting to the reopening?

The windows of Galeries Lafayette on November 22, 2020. -

• The government detailed Thursday the “reinforced health protocol” wanted as “simple, readable” which will accompany the reopening of shops and shelves of so-called “non-essential” products from this Saturday.

• Parisian department stores deprived of tourists say they are ready to reopen their doors in accordance with the protocol.

• “These brands know how to do it.

  They did so at the end of the first confinement in May.

  They had already implemented good practices.

  They have the experience and the people to do it, ”says Yohann Petiot, director general of the Alliance du commerce.

Here we go again.

After Emmanuel Macron's intervention, announcing in particular the reopening of so-called non-essential shops this Saturday, the Parisian department stores are in the starting blocks.

Galeries Lafayette, BHV and Printemps will find their customers this Saturday at 10 a.m. after weeks of closure linked to the re-containment ordered to stop the second wave of Covid-19.

The windows and the illuminations are ready but what about the sanitary and access protocol?

While this holiday season is so crucial for their survival.

The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced that the shops, which will reopen, will have to respect the rule of one customer for 8 m², against 4 m² before their closure.

A couple or a person with child (ren) counts as one person.

It is recommended to have a one-way traffic and ventilate the store.

Wearing a mask will obviously be compulsory and hydroalcoholic gel will also be made available at the entrance.

Shops of more than 400 m², such as department stores, must finally provide a counting system.

They "will have to provide for a person or a counting system to guarantee compliance with the gauge inside the store", underlined Minister Alain Griset, the Minister for SMEs.

With the consequence of monstrous queues?

"We will adapt"

“We will adapt to this gauge.

And there will be fluidification work at the entrance but we were already on strict protocols, so there should not be any major changes, ”says one within the Galeries Lafayette group, which also includes the BHV Marais, contacted by

.

For its part, Printemps did not respond to our requests.

But the Alliance du commerce - which brings together the Union du grand commerce de center-ville, the Federation of clothing brands and the Federation of shoe brands - ensures that Parisian businesses and in particular department stores are ready. .

“These brands know how to do it.

They did so at the end of the first confinement in May.

It was even them during the first deconfinement who had imposed the wearing of masks on their customers when it was not mandatory.

They had already implemented good practices.

They have the experience and the people to do it, ”says Yohann Petiot, director general of the Alliance du commerce.

Regarding the potential queues in front of stores, he qualifies.

“The department stores no longer have international tourist customers, they are already at a very low level of footfall and the stores are large, so I'm not sure they are reaching their maximum level.

If so, they will run queues with respect to social distancing.

Afterwards, for customers who can, it is preferable to go to the store during off-peak hours, ”explains Yohann Petiot.

In terms of schedules, "a priori that does not change", notes the Alliance.

Stores say they will be open until 8 p.m.

And this also on Sundays.

“We will also see how customers react.

She's a big unknown, ”he says.

One thing is certain, this reopening is vital for businesses and even for these Parisian institutions.

"Impacts"

“This reopening is excellent news, we have asked enough, worked for it, so that we can be happy about it.

This makes it possible to have four weekends before Christmas and to try to save the end of November a little and save the holidays, ”recalls Yohann Petiot.

And to specify: “However, we reopen with a reinforced health protocol, which will have an impact on certain businesses in terms of activities.

We will have to take stock of all this.

This will inevitably have an impact on the financial health of companies, ”concludes Yohann Petiot.

A week ago, the managing director of Galeries Lafayette and BHV / Marais, Nicolas Houzé, announced on BFM Business that the group's turnover “will be halved” this year.

And for good reason, "the Galeries Lafayette, more than the BHV, are really at the confluence of the two professions which are currently most affected by the crisis", namely "tourism and commerce", has t - he underlined that the return to the pre-crisis level was not expected "before 2024".

Printemps, it reopens this Saturday but is already a victim of the crisis.

In November, the group announced the closure of seven of its nineteen stores, including Printemps in Place d'Italie and Citadium des Champs-Elysées and de Nation.

Health

Containment: Does the new health protocol for businesses hold up?

Paris

Confinement in Paris: Ephemeral Christmas displays for traders on sidewalks and parking spaces

• Covid 19

• Coronavirus

• Confinement

• Deconfinement

• Spring

• Trade

• Galeries Lafayette

• Paris