[Report] Covid: will the winter sales save ready-to-wear in France?
Launch day of the winter sales in a shopping street in Boulogne-Billancourt in Hauts-de-Seine, January 20, 2021. © RFI / Anne Bernas
Text by: Anne Bernas Follow
6 min
The traders do not hope to work a miracle, but pray that the four weeks of sales that are starting in France will allow the clothing sector, hard hit by the health crisis, to save its skin.
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No images of shops packed on the first day of the sales this year.
The government had shifted their date to allow businesses to sell a few additional weeks without promotion before the sales, in order to replenish the cash flow exhausted by the reconfinement.
In Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, some shops are empty this Wednesday morning.
The sidewalks of Boulevard Jean Jaurès, the shopping street par excellence, are far from being saturated.
“
It's very quiet.
Covid, confinement, curfew… Even before the sales it was very, very calm.
People are scared, they focus on food shopping.
Fortunately, we don't have a lot of stocks, because the less we sell, the less we receive.
Dimitri, a salesman in a men's clothing store, doesn't hide his pessimism.
There is something.
The coronavirus crisis has not only caused health damage.
Many sectors have been disrupted, mainly because of confinement, including that of clothing: it lost, according to a study by the firm Retail Int.
and Alliance du commerce, nearly a quarter of its annual turnover (22.6%) by accounting for online sales.
These have grown strongly, but started from a long way off and only offset the loss of in-store activity by four points.
Big names in clothing have already filed for bankruptcy and more than 130,000 jobs in the sector are today threatened in France.
The continuation of teleworking, the absence of tourists and the curfew have not allowed the sector to regain vigor after the confinements.
"
We are fortunate not to be located on the Champs-Élysées, a place emptied of its tourists
," explains Aurélie, sales assistant in a famous lingerie store.
Our clientele is rather a neighborhood clientele, very loyal
.
The year 2020 has therefore gone rather well for us.
It is this year that we risk feeling the losses with the economic crisis looming on the horizon.
"
Another fear of traders, will they be able to open their shop on Sunday?
Normally, an opening authorization is only permitted on the first Sunday of the sales.
In this exceptionally complicated year, they hope to be able to welcome customers on the four Sundays of sales to spread the flow of visitors and allow traders to make up some of their lost turnover.
A lack of desire ... and money
The fear generated by the virus, barrier gestures, the wearing of compulsory masks, the limited number of people in stores and the fear of a third confinement may also discourage customers who prefer to stay at home and consume online.
“
People are in doubt,”
says a saleswoman for an American clothing chain.
They don't want to buy, except those who took one or two sizes during confinement and who therefore have no choice!
The figures speak for themselves: we have lost at least 50% of our customers.
People need to touch, to try… Ready-to-wear was already doing very badly, but here it is an
absolute disaster.
»Added to this is also the fact that, with restaurants and bars closed and curfews, the French no longer do shopping for their evenings, which are for the moment to be classified as a souvenir.
“
I do the sales because I need clothes, not at all for fun.
I haven't bought almost anything since March 2020,
”confirms Nadia when leaving a store.
In addition to these fears expressed by customers, there are financial difficulties.
Young people are finding it more and more difficult to find odd jobs in parallel with their studies and therefore no longer consume, or little.
In general, around 73% of French people expect to take advantage of the winter sales that end on February 16, against 80% last year, according to a Spartoo / Ifop poll.
However, they plan to spend on average 197 euros, a budget almost equivalent to that of last winter.
In the large Les Passages shopping center, in Boulogne-Billancourt, January 20, 2021 © RFI / Anne Bernas
Stay optimistic
"
The biggest fear was to be confined"
while the winter sales represent a
"crucial period
", said Tuesday during a press conference with AFP Yohann Petiot, director general of the Alliance of commerce .
This promotional period notably ensured 13.5% of the 2019 sales of clothing brands.
“
We do not despair, we hang on
, says a young saleswoman.
It's not last year's sales, that's for sure.
But we had a good month of December, we were lucky, it allowed our stocks to run out.
We have to remain optimistic, otherwise we will sink.
Even if we know it's going to be difficult.
"
Another positive sign: if the French have reduced their frequentation of ready-to-wear stores, they have bought more per visit.
“
We have witnessed a transition from
“ pleasure ”
shopping to efficient, planned purchasing, as evidenced by the sharp reduction in in-store attendance (-20% between the two confinements, then -15% in December), partly offset by a historic increase in the conversion rate (+ 11.4% over the year)
”, explain the Alliance du Commerce and Retail Int.
Finally, it should be noted that, health crisis or not, there will always be diehard consumers at heart, such as Catherine, a young retiree, who came especially to Boulogne to do the sales.
“
I'm doing the sales, because I love it,
” she exclaims
.
I don't want to change anything.
I try not to let myself go, I buy myself dresses, only to please myself!
"
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