This is the question asked by the French Federation of Women's Ready-to-wear (FFPAPF), on the eve of the opening of the winter sales, which begin on Wednesday January 8, 2025.
Although it has undergone several modifications* to adapt to changes in commerce, the law of December 30, 1906 continues to regulate sales. However, as the FFPAPF points out, the world has changed.
Black Friday, initiated by Amazon and introduced in France in 2010, confronted French brands with periods of massive promotions, even before Christmas. Fast fashion players, such as Shein, armed with artificial intelligence, offer incessant promotions at ultra-competitive prices, making the traditional sales model less impactful.
Finally, with temperatures and seasons no longer following traditional cycles, the FFPAPF questions the relevance of maintaining sales at the start of winter, when consumers often do not yet have needs linked to seasonality.
To put fashion back into a more sustainable and virtuous model, the Federation advocates a return to basics: limiting promotions to sales periods, to stop devaluing products with permanent discounts; reinstate a reasoned logic, where sales are really used to sell seasonal stocks; fight against the illusion of daily “false promotions”, which push consumers into unnecessary purchases and fuel harmful overconsumption.
-A sales calendar deemed obsolete, unless it is the very concept that is obsolete
Faced with these challenges, the president of the FFPAPF, Yann Rivoallan, is calling for a national debate with French brands to answer a central question: “What is the right time for sales today? “.
A subject that has been debated many times and which the former Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, no longer wanted to hear about as it confronts the commercial positions of department stores and independent retailers. The question, ultimately, would not rather be: does the organization of French sales, at a time of globalization of purchases via the digital economy and all promotions, still make sense?
And if the main subject of the French is the price (see the IFM studies), is there not a need to rethink the question of the cost of products, both from a point of view environmental, speciesist or purchasing power? The debate is open.
*The text of the law of December 30, 1906 stipulates that sales of new goods in the form of sales, liquidations or unpacking sales require special authorization from the mayor. Since then, it has undergone several major modifications to adapt to changes in commerce. The law has evolved to set national sales periods, now limited to twice a year, with a maximum duration of six weeks each. Furthermore, abuses such as the fraudulent use of the term “sales” or unpacking sales have led to a strengthening of controls and sanctions to guarantee transparency and protect consumers.
