Surgical masks made in France but sold at the same price as those made in China?
This is the bet made by the distributor Leclerc.
Asked about BFMTV this Thursday, the boss of the group, Michel-Édouard Leclerc, explained that he was "
setting up a French industry
" to provide these masks made in France to its consumers.
Read also: French surgical masks are struggling to resist the Chinese steamroller
"
Until a very near date
", the surgical masks sold at Leclerc will still come from China, unlike the textile masks, already produced in France.
The sector is built in partnership "
with a company called Lemoine
".
These will be the same surgical masks as those currently purchased in China and will be sold “
at the same price
” in stores, under the Distributor's Repère brand.
Michel-Édouard Leclerc, however, did not specify how these local productions could be sold at the same price when the cost of labor differs.
The precise date is not known either.
Another announcement, Leclerc wants to launch
"the cheapest electric car on the rental market"
, of the order of "
five euros per day rental, plus mileage
", or about seven euros per day.
The distributor will buy 4,000 cars from Renault to offer this possibility to its customers.
This offer could be active around March or April, said the businessman.
Read also: Independent distributors come out clearly strengthened in 2020
“
Everyone talks about the savings of the French, but it is not the poor who have saved [...].
All these young people no longer buy a car [...] so they go for limited-time rentals, a weekend, a week.
There, Leclerc will offer the cheapest electricity supply on the market,
”he explained.
At present, the reinforced health rules announced last Friday by the government impact "
about 230 specialized stores
" of the Leclerc group, whether pharmacies or cultural centers.
If they can remain open, hypermarkets are also impacted: the closure of non-food stores in fact reduces the number of visitors to centers and these stores.
However, this "
half-measure
" remains preferable to general confinement, qualified Michel-Édouard Leclerc.