2023-08-01 09:58:51
Disappointing results. The 2023 summer sales which end on Tuesday show a first “mixed” assessment, according to the players in a sector which is suffering from the decline in the purchasing power of the French and which has experienced several bankruptcies of major brands.
“1,000 businesses (…) affected by the riots”
After four weeks of sales, merchants’ turnover was down 1% overall compared to 2022, according to figures from Retail Int’s clothing panel. for the Trade Alliance, transmitted to AFP.
This year, the summer trade meeting was to take place from June 28 to July 25, a later financial year than that of 2022. It was extended to five weeks by the government to try to compensate for the effect of the riots which have followed the death of Nahel, 17, shot and killed by a police officer at the end of June. “A little over 1,000 businesses were directly affected by the riots,” said Minister Delegate for Trade Olivia Grégoire in early July.
Inflationary context
In the capital, the results are “mixed” according to the Paris Chamber of Commerce (CCIP), which details in a press release that 54% of Parisian traders recorded results greater than or equal to the 2022 sales. At the national level, “both first weeks worked well” before “a very clear slowdown”, observed the cabinet of Olivia Grégoire, which attributes this phenomenon in particular to a calendar of sales later in the season.
These sales “were eagerly awaited by the French and allowed them to make purchases after several months of tightening their belts”, reacted the Minister Delegate to AFP. “Inflation and the strong constraint of purchasing power have given new interest to sales this year for consumers”, also observed the director general of the Alliance du Commerce, Yohann Petiot. To the point that these give the month of July “a very good performance compared to 2022 with 15% higher activity in stores”, he noted.
On the other hand, the balance sheet is “quite negative for local businesses”, underlined the director general of the union of independent workers (SDI) Marc Sanchez. The provisional figures among members (more than 25,000) indicate a drop in attendance of 15% to 20% compared to 2022.
Pandemic, inflation and rising charges have caused serial difficulties for three years for many well-known brands of French consumers – Kookaï, Burton of London, Gap France, André, San Marina, and others – which could lead them, such as Camaïeu in September 2022, until liquidation.
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