After a month in slow motion, the Toison d’Or shopping center reopened in Dijon this Saturday, November 28. The team at the center and the traders are relieved to see the activity increase. Consumers can equip themselves and even already think about Christmas gifts.
Even before entering, this Saturday, November 28, 2020, a dose of hydroalcoholic solution is applied to the hands of customers. The tone for adaptation to confinement is set. In order to smooth the flow of visitors, the Toison d’Or shopping center will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays in December. An automatic count is carried out at each entry and exit of people with “laser counters”.
The principle is to use a gauge of one person for 8 m². The owner of the mall, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, bears responsibility for the aisles. A coefficient of 80% was assigned to the total area and the result was divided by 8 to give the maximum tonnage of the entire Golden Fleece.
8 m² per person
At the time of deconfinement, the retail space had been raised to just under 40,000 m² to condition the reopening. This time, the entire space is taken into account: the commercial area, the circulation area and the storage area to define the number of people that can be admitted. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield indicates a GLA surface of 78,700 m² which leads to calculate a maximum of 7,870 people.
If the gauge were to be approached to 85%, as in the spring, agents would position themselves at the doors to regulate the flow and if the maximum was reached, the doors would no longer accept the entry of visitors, opening only to let out the people.
According to our information, shortly after 10 am, around 1,600 visitors were present in the Dijon shopping center. The attendance of this first morning was expected to drop by 30% compared to Thursday, November 28, 2019. This is honorable for the first times of reopening, especially since the confinement has not yet been lifted.
“Delighted today to see the flow of visitors returning to calm”
Indeed, from 10 am, many people got off the tram to go to the shopping center. In the aisles, consumers responded present by being far from saturating the spaces. As often, the Primark bags were swinging in number at arm’s length. Note that there were many purchases in children’s clothing stores. Of course, the future Christmas presents were also there.
After having indicated that he was delighted to see all the traders return – some had maintained an activity with deliveries at the entrance to their shop – the director of the Toison d’Or shopping center Gauthier Derache underlines “to be delighted today to see the flow of visitors returning in peace ”.
Restaurants remain closed
Within the stores, the responsibility lies with each brand. For cells of less than 400 m², the number of clients admitted at the same time is displayed on buttons at the entrance. For spaces of more than 400 m², a count is made at the entrance.
Outside, we find the markings on the ground to facilitate spacing in case of crowds. In addition, the shopping center offers merchants an application to easily manage appointments.
Catering is possible from take-away shops. Several restaurants that have not opted for this solution will remain closed until January 20, 2021.
The team of security guards has been reinforced with instructions to be even more rigorous than in the spring concerning the respect of signs on the ground to indicate the directions of traffic and limit the crossing of customers in the aisles. Police officers are also required to patrol the shopping center and its surroundings.
“Offer a magical Christmas to our customers”
For the fourth year, Santa’s reindeer are back outside. Christmas decorations and cabins are in place in the aisles of the mall. “The interest is to offer a magical Christmas to our customers, despite the confinement, after this gloomy month, the goal is to also sell a little dream to our visitors” explains Gauthier Derache who thinks of all the links of the commerce by keeping “in touch with our service providers who are delighted to come back”.
On the other hand, most of the shops have not yet decorated their window in this theme. The first step is to mark the reopening and generate cash by posting promotions. Some are explicitly linked to Black Friday but this is not the case everywhere. The discounts vary between -30 and -50%.
Gauthier Derache wishes traders to regain their level of activity in December 2019. On the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield side, we refuse to communicate the share of turnover achieved for the end of year celebrations or that which can be expected during this particular time of Christmas 2020.
Jean-Christophe Tardivon
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