The Ministry of the Economy has just published this Tuesday, December 29, 2020 in the Official Journal the decree setting the date of the winter sales. Against all expectations, Lorraine, which usually benefits from a derogatory regime to align itself with Luxembourg, will have to wait until January 20, 2021 like the rest of France.
Article 1 of the decree is straightforward: “For the year 2021, by derogation from the provisions of article 1 of the aforementioned decree of May 27, 2019, the date and time of the start of the winter sales are set for Wednesday January 20 at 8 a.m. For the year 2021, by way of derogation from the provisions of article 2 and of the annex to the aforementioned decree of May 27, 2019, the start date of the winter sales is also set at January 20 for the departments of the Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges and Guadeloupe. “
–
Bad news
Bad news for the economic players in the three Lorraine departments who were counting on this late date to sell their excess stocks and rebuild their cash flow after months of checkered activity. The government apparently did not want to hear their appeal and take regional specificities into account. Many associations of traders expected a gesture. They were not heard.
On December 4, Sébastien Duchowiz, president of the Nancy merchants association, Les Vitrines de Nancy, told us that he was optimistic that the government would respect the derogation of January 2. : “We are in a logic where it would be good to be able to keep the date of January 2. January wouldn’t be a good month without the sales. The consumer is not fooled. I don’t see why he would go and buy a parka on January 10, when ten days later it would be the sales. Shifting is not very wise. In addition, we have on our heads this sword of Damocles from a third confinement after the holidays. “
–
Luxembourg neutralized?
Moselle side, where competition is head-on with Luxembourg, Fabrice Genter, president of the Moselle Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed to the Republican Lorrain this weekend that an agreement in principle for Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Moselle had been torn from Alain Griset, Minister of SMEs, to maintain January 2. Fabrice Genter had pleaded that “the federations of traders in the department wanted to align themselves almost unanimously with the Luxembourg neighbor”. And to specify: “Almost three weeks of delay, it is too much, the impact would be catastrophic. All of northern Lorraine will have crossed the border and purchasing power will have withered away. Especially after this particular year 2020 when traders need to generate sales and sell stocks. They must be able to fight on equal terms. »Classified without continuation. It must be said that in the meantime, Luxembourg has been put in place until January 10, with the closure of non-essential businesses. This measure would have weighed in the balance.
–
