Since January 19, place for the second markdown. But only a week after the start of the sales, the results are more than gloomy. In Toulouse, traders show an average drop of 25% on sales compared to last year at the same period.
“This start of the sales is very bad! » exclaims Philippe Léon, president of the Toulouse merchants association, which represents around 2,000 businesses in the pink city. The scene is set, these winter sales 2022 have obviously started very badly.
In certain districts of Toulouse, traders are announcing -42% in turnover compared to last year. Others -20%. On average, Toulouse traders plunged 25% on this start of the sales.
Even if it varies greatly from one district to another, the reductions announced are enormous. It must be said that between the multiplication of contaminations with the Omicron variant, contact cases and imposed teleworking, the conditions are catastrophic for selling. It is very worrying.
analyzes Philippe Léon, president of the associations of traders in Toulouse
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Indeed, many Toulouse residents are confined because they are contaminated, or forced to telecommute and are not going to the city center at the moment, so these winter sales are not having the expected success. Far from there.
Despite the discounts granted, buyers are not there. “There is an ambient gloom that does not encourage buying and Toulouse traders are very worried. Indeed, many benefited from PGE (State guaranteed loan) during the health crisis which they will have to repay from the month of March, but the sales could have helped them, but the beginnings are very difficult. It is worrying.”
In Toulouse, traders have accumulated such difficulties (demonstrations every Saturday with the yellow vests crisis then the Covid) that they do not know how they will be able to pay their loan installments when they arrive.
continues Philippe Léon, president of the association of merchants of Toulouse
Traders who have, thanks to state aid, managed to save their shops, but who risk having to go out of business in the coming months if they are unable to pay.
In smaller towns, such as Albi or Castres, the same observation. This start of the winter sales does not attract crowds in the city center despite -50%, even -60% displayed in the window after a week.
It’s really terrible. These sales are part of a gloomy context linked to the pandemic. Last year we came out of confinement so we experienced a form of improvement, but there, between the Omicron variant and the increase in contamination, this does not encourage purchases!
Bernard Barthe, President of the Departmental Interprofessional Union of Traders of the Tarn
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A bad Covid for business, but not only. The proliferation of private sales and destocking operations in December disturbs consumers who have had difficulty seeing things clearly.
“It lacks readability. There are so many private sales, destocking operations, that the “sales” effect no longer works. There is no surprise effect. We had already asked to shift this period sales. It comes too early in the season. And above all, all promotional sales should be prohibited one month before these sales periods”, specifies Bernard Barthe of the UDICT.
In addition, online sales have exploded with the pandemic; “It doesn’t help”, concludes Bernard Barthe. Everyone hopes that this start of the sales is only a failed start.
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