The start of the winter sales after new year’s day is a departure from tradition.  Apart from the 2021 winter sales, which were postponed to 20 January due to the closure of non-essential shops, Luxembourg traditionally opens its sales ball between Christmas and New Year.

"Various reasons led us to compromise on the date of 3 January," Claude Bizjak, deputy director of the CLC, explained to Paperjam. "Just after Christmas, small shops have small teams, with tired employees who are facing a period of returns and exchanges of gifts. By starting the sales just after Christmas, this means having to prepare the shop during the December 26 holiday," adds Bizjak. So, following consultation with representatives from across the retail sector, the CLC decided to start the 2022 winter sales on Monday 3 January.

Lorraine remains ahead of France

The sales will end on 29 January in the grand duchy, the next day in Lorraine, and on 31 January in Belgium.

As usual, Germany leaves it up to the retailers to decide on the date of their sales, generally between the end of December and the end of January.

For retailers, the operation is an opportunity to clear stocks before the arrival of the new spring-summer 2022 collections. "The sales are always an important event, both for retailers and for customers,” says Bizjak.