Elise Denjean, edited by Ugo Pascolo 06:30, February 20, 2022

Less than two months from the presidential election, traders feel a little abandoned by the candidates.

The question of their future seems to them completely absent from the debates of this campaign.

They therefore formulated a whole host of proposals to try to influence the programs and the next five-year period.

This is one of the forgotten themes of this election campaign: the future of our merchants.

Yet this sector is the one that hires the most in France, ahead of industry.

In fact, it alone represents almost a million companies and more than three million employees.

So to challenge the candidates for the presidential election, the Trade Alliance and Procos, which represent specialized brands, published a white paper this week with 22 proposals.

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“For 2 years, we have only been talking about trade in response to the crisis, laments Yohann Petiot, Managing Director of the Trade Alliance. Now we have to talk about the future of trade!”

With the Procos, it therefore calls for a major strategic plan for the sector, by 2030. The latter could be fed by the various proposals from the sector.

For example, simplifying the training system for current employees or even raising the age limit to 30 years for completing an apprenticeship. Traders are also calling for the modernization of all commercial areas, not just those in medium-sized and small towns, while "de-commercialization" also affects large cities, such as Paris.

"We have to change quickly, so we have to have the means", summarizes Yohann Petiot. 

Today, they represent only 2% of its turnover, or 11 billion euros per year.

In comparison, Amazon invests 50 billion on its own.

“The brands must take their responsibilities, but we also need the support of the State”, concludes the director general of the Alliance du commerce.

And there is urgency.

This support must intervene "from the start of the next five-year term", so that the sector can jump on the bandwagon.

“Today, the weight of e-commerce in retail sales represents around 14% at the end of 2021”, explains Emmanuel Le Roch, general delegate of Procos.

"We all know that it will increase to 25-30% between 2025 and 2030. The challenge is to know who is going to capture these market shares?" 

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Bring back the taste of in-store shopping

To counter the behemoths of e-commerce, you also have to bring customers back to the store.

However, "shops are only open about 30% of the free time of the French", notes Yohann Petiot.

The Trade Alliance and the Procos therefore recommend a relaxation of the opening hours of the shops, with for example the possibility of opening 12 Sundays a year.

But also in the evening for certain occasions such as sales, back to school or Christmas parties.

"If we want physical commerce to still live tomorrow, customers must be able to get there. Otherwise it will always be easier to stay at home on your sofa to order online", justifies the CEO of the Alliance Trade.

According to professionals in the sector, this tax has exploded in recent years, being multiplied by about five.

It weighs today to the tune of one billion euros on companies.

A source of inequity with pure-players.

Removing this tax would also free up investment resources for the digital transition of businesses.

Finally, traders are also calling for the supervision of relations between tenants and landlords in order to lower real estate costs.

And to oversee all this, they have another wish: to have a trade minister dedicated to these issues.