"
We did not expect this announcement, and above all we did not expect to be concerned,
" laments Isabelle Jahlan, communication director of the Krys group (Krys, Vision Plus and Lynx optics).
Since January 31, shopping centers of more than 20,000 square meters have been closed.
Only pharmacies and food stores, including supermarkets and specialty stores, are allowed to open.
A measure that arouses a lot of misunderstanding among opticians, yet health professionals, forced to close.
Read also: Hidden war between hearing care professionals and opticians
"
During the first confinement, we could open to ensure continuity of care
," explains André Balbi, president of the Rassemblement des opticiens de France (ROF).
Likewise, during the second confinement, opticians were on the list of 'essential' shops, while today we must close
”.
The ROF estimates that 1,500 optical stores are affected by this closure, which represents around 30% of the sector's revenue.
"
We wrote to the 103 departmental prefectures to obtain an exemption
," says the president of the ROF.
To date, 60 have not responded, 16 have no shopping malls of over 20.000m
²
, and 4 refused.
The remaining 23 accepted and allowed us either the click and collect, or the reception in store by making an appointment.
"
Read also: Major brands penalized by the closure of shopping centers
"
We want to open, like pharmacies, as health professionals, or at least finish what we have started
", confirms Alain Gerbel, president of the National Federation of Opticians of France (FNOF).
Indeed, according to the ROF, approximately 200,000 items of equipment are blocked due to the closure of shopping centers: "
we must find solutions to deliver all the glasses that were ordered the week preceding the announcement
", specifies André Balbi.
The click and collect and the reception by making an appointment are both prohibited, except by prefectural exemption, the optical stores organize themselves to deliver the orders.
"
From Saturday [January 30], we called customers to organize deliveries, but they are done in poor conditions, either in the parking lot of the shopping center, in the city center or at home
", explains Isabelle Jahlan.
On the Krys network, 144 stores are affected by this closure.
The 89 stores of the Optic 2000 network (Optic 2000, Audio 2000, Lissac and Gadol purchasing centers) installed in shopping centers are in the same situation.
"
Some of our opticians have obtained a dispensation from the prefect, some opt for delivery, and others are at the head of several stores so they have transferred all their orders to stores located in the city center
", explains Olivier Padieu, President of the Optic 2000 group. "
This measure creates a kind of unfair competition between optical stores
," he adds.
Both ROF and FNOF presidents say they have contacted the government, but have received no response.
"
In all cases, we will respect the measures announced by the government
", concludes Alain Gerbel, president of the FNOF.
