It took hours of backstage negotiations to get there: this Thursday at noon, the government announces a possible postponement of Black Friday for one week, scheduled for November 27, "subject to a reopening of shops by then" , estimates Bercy.
A meeting, scheduled for Friday at 3 pm, is to finalize this agreement between the players in mass distribution, commerce and online commerce, who took part in the discussions and “favorably” welcomed this proposal.
The government's objective is clear: by postponing the promotional operation, the aim is to "guarantee a reopening of shops in France in conditions of maximum health security", assures Bercy in a press release.
“We must now study the logistical and salary aspects that such a postponement generates, we explain to the office of Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy.
But the idea is that everyone, physical stores but also online platforms, shifts Black Friday by one week.
The exact day is yet to be determined.
For now, Carrefour is talking about a suspension of the operation until November 29.
What will Amazon do?
Precision of size: we are however waiting to know this Thursday afternoon the decision of the giant Amazon on this postponement, because given its weight in French e-commerce, it would be difficult to launch such a postponement without it.
“Amazon, a representative of which was present at this morning's meeting, welcomes this postponement, we promise Bercy.
Bruno Le Maire spoke last night
(Editor's note: Wednesday)
with the general manager of Amazon France and that does not seem to be an obstacle.
"
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For supporters of an imminent reopening of small convenience stores considered "non-essential", the horizon is therefore clearing up.
“The government did not want the convenience stores to be reopened at the end of November during the Black Friday promotions, because there would have been too many crowds in the stores,” said one participant.
Postponing Black Friday will make it possible to reopen quietly, then only to launch discounts and other strikethrough prices ”.
According to our information, it is up to Emmanuel Macron, this Tuesday, to announce the imminent reopening of small shops, probably around November 27.
The media boss of Leclerc centers, Michel Edouard Leclerc, grilled politeness to the President of the Republic, not hesitating, in a tweet, to mention a reopening of “stores on November 28, in return for postponing operations planned for Black Friday ”.
Still a lot of problems to solve
Once the agreement in principle is placed on this postponement, the puzzle has only just begun.
Not only have many brands already started their promotions - this is the case, for example, of Auchan since November 16, of Marionnaud, etc.
- but most of them have published catalogs, which the teams have been working on for months.
Is it possible to cancel promotions from these catalogs?
The consumer, then, would he not be entitled to protest?
"We need legal guarantees," pleaded a participant in the meeting.
At Bercy, we want to demine: “There have always been promotions a little before the launch of Black Friday.
But these promotions are not necessarily the heart of the offers that are offered on D-Day.
And then, another major concern, some products on promotion are even already on the shelves.
In short, putting this decision to music could quickly turn into a nightmare.
"We were already there, but the more the days go by, the more we are in Absurdistan", quips a distributor.
