Despite an unusual context, this Wednesday, January 20 marked the beginning of the sales, a decisive but not very reassuring period for shopkeepers in Nice.
There is no crowd this Wednesday! On “Jean Médecin” Avenue, it is no later than nine o’clock this morning. There are those who are starting their workdays, and then there are others, leisurely entering the stores along the avenue as well as the “Nice Étoile” shopping center. Clothing brands, appliances, or renovation stores with highly attractive offers like the famous “-60%” aim to attract customers.
Inside the center, the time is for the final preparations, the last pieces of tape are removed from the windows, the shelves are evaluated one last time, and the first gates can open. Inside the shopping center, there is an atmosphere of an almost ordinary day. The excitement of the first day of sales is absent, the image of people rushing under the gate is now a legend. Some shops even choose to open later, like the “Adidas” store, a symbol of a bleak first day of sales. For others, the gong has sounded, and the first day can finally begin. Stores specializing in textiles, “Jennyfer,” “Etam,” and many others attract the first customers, determined to get a good deal. Buy one T-shirt, get the second free, discounts on each product, the “sale” strategy is paying off as the first purchases are made.
Shopkeepers Aren’t Getting Their Hopes Up
Despite a challenging climate due to the coronavirus, shopkeepers at “Nice Étoile” want to remain hopeful about the sales as a reason to believe: “I hope there will be people in the coming days. Since we resumed work, we have only been running promotions, and that has attracted our customers, hoping for the same dynamic,” reports Halima Youssouf, manager at “Sergent Major.” One floor up, as she prepares to open her store, Catherine Leone is optimistic even though the revenue is hard to accept: “In terms of numbers, we are at -70% compared to last year. We’ve fallen so far behind that we can only match but never exceed,” she asserts in her shop “Chevignon,” specializing in men’s textiles. The manager, who has been in charge of this store for 10 years, recounts an apathetic first day of sales.
One pressing question troubles shopkeepers: Do the French have purchasing power in this challenging period? In his still customer-less store, Cyril M. is skeptical. “We are going to see two types of behavior. Those who are financially tight and those who think they might be reconfined in three weeks, who will come for the sales,” he explains from behind his cash register. One thing is certain, the enthusiasm around sales no longer has the same appeal as it did in the past, and this former director at “Zara” won’t say otherwise: “a few years ago, at “Zara” it was 8:30 and 400 people poured in at the opening. Today, you have offers all year round, sales no longer excite anyone,” he adds, nostalgic for a time when sales were a real “event.” The countdown has begun, with just four weeks to take advantage of enticing offers.
