After the 2022 winter sales are ending this Saturday on a rather dull note, according to the trade professionals interviewed by Delano’s sister publication Paperjam.
"The results are not very good and even lower than in previous years," admits Anne Darin-Jaulin, director of the UCVL. In the capital, businesses have been affected by the rebound in weekday teleworking coupled with Saturday demonstrations against social restrictions. "The 2G+ restrictions in the catering industry have not helped tourism in the Greater Region," says the interviewee, who points to high stock levels in some shops.
Initial estimates from the fashion sector show a 25% decrease compared to 2020.
The same is true of Femo (the fashion federation), whose president mentions the epidemic rebound, the increase in teleworking and lower-than-usual footfall at weekends. "The first estimates of the fashion sector show a decrease of 25% compared to 2020", Marc Herber says. "The year is therefore off to a very complicated start, given that the winter sales represent between 8% and 9% of the year's turnover."
"The sales have been quite disappointing for a large part of the retailers. Some did not even take advantage of all the Sunday openings and preferred to remain closed from the second or third Sunday onwards, due to a lack of traffic," adds Claude Bizjak, deputy director of the .
Traders also had a hard time with the wave of Omicron variant contaminations, which increased absences and sometimes limited opening hours.
A tricky schedule
On the shopping centre side, on the other hand, the picture is a little more positive. It must be said that the gloomy weather of the first fortnight of the month played in the favour of these structures.
"Despite a slight drop in the number of visitors, customers are buying more articles and have a higher spending budget,” analyses Manu Konsbruck, director of the Belle Étoile. The centre claims to be receiving very positive feedback from shopkeepers, just like its neighbour City Concorde. "The figures for footfall are more than satisfactory," says Esther Steinmann, head of communications at the Lifestyle Center.
At the Cloche d'Or and Kirchberg shopping centres, the operator, Nhood Luxembourg, does not draw up a balance sheet, but observes "encouraging" signs, such as the increase in footfall, not to mention the longer time spent by customers.
"The sales are not comparable between 2021 and 2022, as the operation started later than the school holidays and last year the sales were delayed.
"The sales are not comparable between 2021 and 2022, because the operation started with a delay in relation to the school holidays and last year the sales were delayed," adds Raphaël Bouchet, director of the Cloche d'Or shopping centre.
Konsbruck is nevertheless optimistic for the future: "The date of the summer sales is well chosen: they start on 24 June and we hope that some people will make the bridge following the National Holiday in order to take advantage of the sales the next day.”
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.