Paris (AFP)

The government has decided: the start of the summer sales will be postponed, but only by a week, sparing the goat and the cabbage between small businesses in favor of a more important gap and the large brands in favor of maintaining the date initial.

"It is wise, especially in view of the current upturn in consumption, (not to) excessively postpone the date of the sales. I suggest that it be postponed to June 30," Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announced on Thursday. on France Inter.

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

The sales period was until now scheduled from June 23 to July 20, but the Covid-19 epidemic has disrupted the activity of traders, leaving them on the hands of large stocks, in particular in clothing.

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It is a "reasonable decision", greeted on Twitter the Alliance du Commerce, which represents in particular the big brands of the city center (Galeries Lafayette, Printemps) and the big brands of clothing or footwear.

It "allows: business support, stock flow, cash replenishment, pending aid, and customers who can + have fun", writes the organization.

Already, the summer sales of last year, then the winter sales, had been postponed, respectively by one month and two weeks, especially at the request of small traders, who wanted to sell for longer at a high price. after the closures imposed during confinement.

This winter, their duration was also increased by two weeks, to extend the clearance period.

Bruno Le Maire did not indicate whether this would also be the case this summer, but he defended this choice of a slightly delayed start.

"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.

This had particularly harmed Parisian businesses: at the beginning of July, the capital was emptied of many inhabitants who had gone on vacation, and tourists were few.

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

- Clothing sales jump -

Between Wednesday and Sunday, the first five days of reopening, clothing sales have increased by 90% compared to the same period of 2019, said Bruno Le Maire.

The government had been talking to professionals for weeks, and opinions differed between large and small traders.

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The Trade Alliance had called for "the retention of the date" of 23 June.

She feared "losing customers located in large cities" and argued that a delay would encourage promotional offers before the kickoff of "real" sales.

Conversely, the Confederation of traders of France (CDF), representing small independent businesses, campaigned for a delay to July 15, with a maintenance of the period at 4 weeks.

She wanted shops to be able to sell "for a few weeks at least" the products of the current season "at the right price, without discount", considering that they would not be able to compete with the distribution giants in terms of promotions.

In these recent exchanges with professionals, the government planned to differentiate the period of the sales according to the territories.

Bruno Le Maire did not mention this track on Thursday.

mhc / pn / shu

© 2021 AFP