Extension to find good deals this year. © DR
The measure was announced by the government in response to recent riots that broke out in France. The sales are therefore extended for a week, until August 1st. Will this be a game changer? Some answers with Sébastien Duchowicz, president of the Les Vitrines de Nancy merchants association.
On sales and trade in general, he knows a lot. So when the State gave the possibility (very late) to traders to open on Sunday July 9 and extended the sales period until August 1, the president of the Vitrines de Nancy was neither surprised nor too cheerful. For what ? “Officially, that there is an additional week of sales is good news. Also in terms of communication. But that’s not going to change that. It’s a week straddling July and August and therefore right in the crossroads of holidays. In cities like ours, a flow of holidaymakers naturally occurs and a certain calm settles in during the last days of July and the first of August. Many traders are also well aware that the sales trend often takes shape in the first two or even three weeks after the launch. The following weeks are exhausted”, slips Sébastien Duchowicz.
Indirectly, this extra week is already used. Indeed, it is not uncommon to observe on the shelves, at the end of the sales, the appearance of mentions “small prices, round prices or even last chance”. “It’s a way for traders to end the season with the latest sale prices. Generally, this extends from here the last days of August or until the time that the new collections are set up in their entirety, ”continues the president of the Vitrines de Nancy.
A positive dynamic
However, Nancy merchants did not take the opportunity to open their storefronts on Sunday July 9. The reason: too late an announcement. Sébastien Duchowicz explains: “The prefectural decree came much too late. This did not allow us, on the one hand, to organize ourselves internally with our teams: it is never easy to mobilize staff on a Sunday. On the other hand, it was also too late to deploy a communication announcing the opening to the greatest number. We had the experience of the first Sunday of sales which usually sees a large number of open windows. However, this was not the case, far from it. The dynamic is just as different during the summer sales than in the winter. It’s true that when the sun is shining and the temperatures are very pleasant, the desire to devote your Sunday to going from store to store is not a priority. Even if, at the bend of a terrace which will be privileged, there is only one step, and a trench, to enter a business in the hypercentre.
Already done earlier? To see bargain hunters roaming the streets of Nancy with well-filled packages during the first days of the sales, we can guess a rather satisfactory dynamic on the results side. A trend confirmed by Sébastien Duchowicz. “It is similar to last year. Even a little better for certain commercial sectors. If the first weekend of sales arrived at the level of expectations, the great unpacking of Nancy traders boosted sales. If we smooth the results, the results are rather positive. The clientele seems to be still in town. Even after July 14. The dynamic is positive,” he confirms.
So the work wouldn’t slow down customers? A part of course, but strolling remains a must in this period. Tourists have also been numerous since the spring. “At the moment, we are welcoming foreign customers who are heading for the south of France but who are taking the opportunity to stop off in Nancy. And it consumes, so this tourism dynamic is just as pleasant as it is profitable for all sectors of activity”. The summer like the city center trade, despite the works, have not said their last word.
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