We take a look at the strict rules that distinguish the summer and winter sales from other shopping discount events in France. We also dive into the history of these sales and how the French are spending less than they used to.
This Entre Nous aired on Paris Direct, June 26, 2024. A programme produced by Amanda Alexander, Marina Pajovic and Georgina Robertson.
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This Entre Nous aired on Paris Direct, June 26, 2024. A programme produced by Amanda Alexander, Marina Pajovic and Georgina Robertson.
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
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00:00In France 24's Solange Mougin now joins us in the studio to tell us more about this French
00:04tradition of les soldes, the sales that kick off the day.
00:07Solange, the rules over what is considered a sale are actually quite strict in France,
00:11aren't they?
00:12Yeah, they really are.
00:13And we're going to have to break down some terms to better understand these sort of shopping
00:17bonanzas in France.
00:19In French, there are multiple words for discounts, les soldes, promotions, ventes privées.
00:23And all of these are sales and discounts.
00:25But there are specific rules for businesses to use these terms to attract clients into
00:29their shops.
00:30As for les soldes, these are biannual sales.
00:33And the rules here are the strictest of them.
00:36The summer ones, les soldes d'été, generally begin on the last Wednesday of June.
00:41And les soldes de l'hiver, the winter ones, they normally start on the second Wednesday
00:45of January.
00:46Now, there are exceptions, though, to this, depending on the calendar year and on the
00:51location.
00:52Overseas territories and areas near France's borders often have different rules, all of
00:57which are enforced by the DGCCRF, or the Anti-Fraud and Consumerism Body in France.
01:04Now, they apply all of the legislation that's in place, which, of course, has changed over
01:08the years.
01:09Now, currently, les soldes can only last for four weeks.
01:12They used to be longer and have been altered because of changes in how we all shop.
01:17Now, there are other rules as well.
01:19Shop owners must show the original price, as well as the discounted one, as well as
01:24put only on sale items that were already in the shop at least a month before the sales
01:29began.
01:30But above all, the main difference between les soldes and les promotions, or smaller
01:35sales, well, is that les soldes, with les soldes, businesses can sell at a loss to get
01:40rid of their excess stock.
01:43During these mega-sales, they are generally larger than, the discounts are generally larger
01:48than les promotions or the sales that pop up all year round now.
01:51It does seem that you see more sales throughout the year, but they can sell at a loss during
01:56the soldes.
01:57Interesting.
01:58How did les soldes get their start?
01:59Well, they're actually a French invention, and specifically a Parisian one as well.
02:04In the early 1800s, stores with a little bit of everything, les nouveautés as they were
02:08called, they became fashionable, as people had more disposable income to spend on for
02:13volatiles on nice things.
02:15One of these stores, Le Petit Saint-Thomas on Rue du Bac in the 7th arrondissement of
02:20Paris, well, it was quite a chic place to shop.
02:22The legend goes that its founder, Simon Manoury, had a surplus of fabric, des coupons, they
02:28were called.
02:30In 1830, he decided to sell that excess amount of fabric at a discounted price, and les soldes
02:36were born.
02:37Now, beyond this, Monsieur Manoury was quite an inventive salesman.
02:41It's also attributed to him for putting actual price tags on things, allowing shoppers to
02:47roam freely through the aisles.
02:49He also created a mail order option for non-Parisians, but the story doesn't stop there.
02:57One of his employees, an Aristide Boussicault, would eventually go on to co-found the famous
03:02department store, Le Bon Marché.
03:04And it's through these grands magasins, Le Bon Marché, Le Printemps, Galerie Lafayette,
03:08that sales actually became seasonal and a very popular thing.
03:11So much so that in 1906, the French government intervened and created, intervened and created
03:16a law with guidelines to the sales so that prices wouldn't keep dropping.
03:21And since then, there have been a series of laws that have kept up with how our habits,
03:26when it comes to shopping, have changed.
03:28Fascinating history of les soldes.
03:29Let's talk numbers.
03:30Now, how much do the French people spend compared to other nations?
03:35Well, France's sales laws are actually much stricter than many other European nations,
03:40many of which have sales periods, but they don't have the same set in stone laws, especially
03:45in regard to dates.
03:47And France is definitely a far cry from the big discounts all year that you find in, for
03:51example, some American shops.
03:53Although it's important to note the phenomenon of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, well, they
03:57are now a thing here in France as well.
04:00As is, on the opposite end of the spectrum, an anti-sales sentiment that is growing among
04:04some people and also among some brands that now refuse sales with the argument that quality
04:09costs something.
04:11Nonetheless, the French, over 60% of them, generally do participate in les soldes.
04:16And an opinion poll found that their budget for these summer sales is 307 euros, which
04:23is actually down from last year's budget of 362 euros.
04:27So sales, yes, but not as much shopping as before.
04:31And this is actually in line with studies that show that the French spend less of their
04:35actual total household budget, just 3.8% on clothing and shoes.
04:41And that is actually less than other EU nations, which is quite ironic considering that France
04:46is considered such a chic and fashionable place.
04:49Indeed.
04:50Who would have thought it?
04:51France 24's Solange Mugen with that fascinating history of les soldes here in France.