Fire in a night bar in Switzerland, kidnapping of the Venezuelan president… It is in a strange climate, particularly on the international level, that the winter sales will open this Wednesday, January 7 (they will be held until February 3). And the French context is hardly more rosy. “The state of mind of the French remains degraded, due to the current budgetary stagnation, and it is not the upcoming elections – municipal then presidential – which will lift the wait-and-see attitude of consumers,” notes the expert in commercial strategy for brands Emmanuel Le Roch. In his eyes, “it is not certain that the sales will be successful for retailers this year”.
The challenge is all the more difficult to take on as this traditional commercial event arrives just after Black Friday at the end of November and the private sales (sometimes starting as early as December 26), which have become almost widespread across all brands and already offer significant discounts.