" Nobody outside, what do we do?" In his shoe store La Scarpa, rue de Rivoli in the fourth district of Paris, manager Bilel Ouaddah laughs yellow. Gominé hair, impeccable smile, he sold his shoes well to attract customers on this first day of sales. But in this district of Paris usually so popular with consumers, today there are hardly any cafetiers dressing the terraces and workers at the bedside of the façades. Parisian customers went on vacation, and foreign tourists never arrived. As a result, merchants in the capital " expect nothing " from this somewhat unusual sales period.
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Rue des Archives, Sandrine *, a saleswoman in the Fluo clothing store, still hadn't met a client by mid-morning. To attract the barge, the store could not splurge. "We did not sell off our stocks like crazy ," she says, tying a navy silk scarf around the neck of a mannequin. We are a small family structure, we do not have the same margins as the big brands. ” Sandrine criticizes certain major brands for having "started their sales on May 11" , with private sales that have multiplied, everywhere. "But small stores like us don't have the same margins, we can't make sales all year round, this kind of behavior will kill small clothing stores." Above all, like most merchants in the neighborhood, Sandrine regrets this start of sales date. “ On July 15, people went on vacation. Ideally it should have been postponed to August 20… ”
Sales or private sales?
At Café Coton, “ private sales ” preceded the sales, and there was not much to change on the promotional signs. “ We are doing exactly the same promotions as before the sales , recognizes Sabrina Assouline, the manager of this store of men's shirts. But the reductions will continue to increase. ” In this small Marais boutique, an event came to save the sad commercial period: customers have gained weight. “ We have nothing to complain about, assures Sabrina Assouline. Our customers stayed for two or three months without doing anything and by eating a lot, they changed size… We have been selling pretty well for a month. ”
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This Tuesday, July 14, Emmanuel Macron announced during his televised address that masks would be mandatory in all enclosed public places, from July 1. Which does not seem to be a problem for traders. " We have not forced our customers to wear the mask until then because otherwise we were obliged to provide it," explains Nawell Hamoum, manager of the Saga cosmetics store on rue de Rivoli. But the vast majority of our customers wear them. "At the shoe store Rudy's, a little further, we are reassured of this new constraint for customers:" Some customers were complaining and insulting us because we asked for a mask. There at least, it will be compulsory for everyone , ”explains Yann, a salesman.
Sales too late
On the Grands Boulevards either, customers were not flocking this Wednesday morning. In the Burton store on boulevard Poissonnière, a customer came in with a fanfare half an hour after opening. "Am I the first?" she tries. "No, second. You are still on the podium, ” replied a saleswoman, surprisingly perky. "The sales arrived too late, people have already left," explains Anabel Marcouly, the regional director. The tourist regions will benefit, but in the big cities, there will inevitably be fewer people. ” However promotions are not lacking: -70% from the first week, and discounts on almost all items. Unheard of here.
"I have been in the store for 62 years, I have never seen so few worlds for the opening of sales" , rattle for his part Renée Lévy, 95, curled up on a white plastic chair in her little one bric-a-brac Cati on the Grands Boulevards. The store recalls the Old Elboeuf by Zola, installed opposite the Ladies' Happiness and which is dying in the shadow of the new temple of consumption. However, unlike the novel, modern "Happiness" does not seem to be spared this year. At the BHV du Marais, there was a lot of excitement before the opening to the public, with its ballet of exhibitors, delivery men, cashiers and security personnel beeping their badges at the electronic terminals. But two hours later, the aisles were very sparse. Pascale, 50, also considered comfortable that first day: " Usually there is the tail, here we are alone " , she said, fingering a -50% cashmere sweater.
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Behind her, two teenage girls swerve to a shoe stand. " These sneakers are my life. I want to wear them every day, kind of non-stop, "said one of them, as if to remind that some will continue somehow to bring to life this amazing summer sales season 2020.
* Some first names have been changed
