The Olympic Games were a sporting success for Paris, but not necessarily for its retailers, who gave a mixed assessment of the event. According to the specialized retail federation Procos, turnover fell by almost 10% in Parisian stores in July and, even with the Games, sales did not take off at the beginning of August. RFI met with retailers disappointed by the lack of footfall in their establishments.
Standing behind the cash register, Matéo waits for customers. Having worked in a clothing store for four years, he knows that August is a quiet month, but he was expecting a surge in business this Olympic Games taking place in France.
” It was very quiethe admits. Let’s not lie to ourselves, the customers’ priority was not to come from the store. The Olympic Games venues had, I imagine, a concentration of the public who were there. In this case, we didn’t have any events around us, so it wasn’t felt in the business. Compared to last year, it’s more or less the same thing… Maybe losing regular French customers, but gaining an international clientele who were passing through. No more, no less. It was different. »
A few streets further on, Maxime Lemersre finishes charging a customer. With his two shops in Lille and Paristhe founder of Socks and company is surprised by the result. We had high expectations for our boutique in Paris. In the end, it was a classic period, there was no crazy craze. However, we are on Rue du Temple, in the Marais. Whereas in Lille, we did very well, we even did well! ” he wonders.
In the capital, as soon as you move away from the Olympic sites, turnover plummets, but the stores most affected remain the ones in the red zone. The week before the opening ceremony, both islands [de la Cité et Saint-Louis, NDLR] were completely girdedrecalls Thierry Véron, president of the Federation of Parisian traders’ associations. The result: a very significant loss of traffic, a loss of turnover that can be as high as 70, 80%. For these traders, there is a compensation commission that is set up. »
When and how much will be redistributed? It is still too early to say. All I have right now is the email address that should be used to send a file.he laments. This is a compensation commission that will be set up after the Games, starting from September 15. »
Not everyone will be able to benefit from this measure. For Thierry Véron, the main thing is to avoid at all costs that stores close their doors. He fears that this difficult summer will be the final nail in the coffin of some retailers.
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