It has become a family tradition: at Easter, the grandmother gives chocolates to her grandchildren, but not only. “To complete the chocolate, as we love our little children, we always put a little toy for them with it, explains Mimosas. So that prolongs the egg hunt and then, when they come back with their little toys, they are doubly happy. I have a grandson who is six years old. I always buy him little figurines, so he can complete his collection. “
“The budget for Easter? For each child we will put 15 to 20 euros. In addition, when we enter a store it is immediately in front of us … so we fall for it!”
This is obvious for this grandmother, who lives in Strasbourg, a city that is not located in one of the 19 departments in the red zone where toy stores are closed because of the Covid-19 coronavirus. And after Christmas, for these businesses, that makes all the difference in terms of sales, such as outdoor games – playhouses, bicycles and other swings – which are very popular when the good weather returns.
The week just before Easter, toy stores are expected to complete 10% of their half-year sales. But it is not won this year, according to Philippe Gueydon, at the head of King Jouet and co-president of the Federation of toy shops. “Clearly, there is a lot of misunderstanding in the industry, explains the leader. However, we do not give up, we rely on digital. But this does not make it possible to compensate for the closure of the points of sale. The turnover is roughly divided by three. We manage to achieve about a third of what we would achieve if our stores were open. “
“Beyond aid, subsidies, or whatever else, we only want to do our job. Even if Mr. Le Maire has been firm on his position, there may be alternatives we could think about. “
Philippe Gueydon, Federation of toy shops
to franceinfo
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Fewer customers authorized per square meter, or appointments, as in Belgium … Toy sellers are ready to accept new constraints. But for Bercy, it’s no until April 17, at least.
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