"
We've never seen that
", "
it's madness
": the emotion and solidarity aroused by the war in Ukraine have caused orders for Ukrainian flags to explode.
French suppliers and resellers face a particularly intense production rate to meet the demand of institutions and individuals.
Two weeks after the start of the Russian offensive, many countries such as France were the scene of parades in the streets to ask for peace.
Demonstrations where the Ukrainian flag is omnipresent.
National institutions also add the standard to the facade of their buildings.
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"More than a million visits"
“
We had to modify the working hours of our teams and continue production on weekends
”.
This is how Doublet, one of the main flag suppliers in France, has adapted to respond to the many requests of the last few days.
It was first necessary to respond to the needs of the communities, because many town halls wanted to modify their flags with the Ukrainian flag as support.
An obligation of result for Doublet and other competing suppliers, whose local authorities represent a large part of their clientele.
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Individuals are calling for the flag they want to wave at the next march for Ukraine.
Several models and sizes available, between 15 and 25€ on average.
What saturate the website of the producer of the North.
“
The first weekend of the conflict, the Ukraine page was saturated.
It has counted more than a million visits
”, emphasizes Philippe Biro, commercial director of Doublet.
A saturation that translates into figures: “
Last year, we sold 50 Ukrainian flags.
In two weeks this year, we sold more than 20,000
.
Same story for Philippe Legrand, manager of the company Bee flags, main supplier of the Elysée.
It was already overwhelmed by orders related to the French presidency of the European Union, but now has to deal with the demand from town halls and individuals.
Added to this is the price of raw materials, which are around 30 to 50% more expensive.
“
Without this outbreak, the sale of Ukrainian flags could have been a plus financially.
There, we are content simply to be there for the customer
, ”explains Philippe Legrand, who still distributes around “
1000 times more Ukrainian flags than a year ago
”.
The geopolitical context
Peaks of activity for players in the sector generally arise during an important geopolitical event.
The attacks of 2015, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... They have already had to adapt in the face of strong demand.
But here, it is unique.
“
Unfortunately, this almost only happens when there is misfortune in a country
,” laments Phil Marso, manager of the Megacom-ik store in Paris.
He had ordered a few stocks of Ukrainian flags for the country's participation in Euro 2021, without selling them.
"
I thought there shouldn't be a Ukrainian community in Paris, but since February 24, I've realized that a lot of Ukrainians are showing up
," he adds.
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Unsurprisingly, orders for Russian flags did not come in.
"No
order
" for Philipe Biro, "
one or two the first days
" for Phil Marso.
The manager of the small Parisian shop is now betting on the flags of peace, with an order of around thirty banners.
“
It's a way of getting involved, I'm waiting for people's reaction
,” he says.
For the time being, even if Philippe Biro observes a slight drop in orders, demand is still very high and support for the Ukrainian people should continue.
