Toulouse shops opened their doors on Sunday morning, November 15, under a municipal decree aimed at offsetting recent revenue losses.
Retailers in the city center lifted their security shutters following an administrative order issued in agreement with the local prefecture and city hall. The emergency measure follows street demonstrations and unrest that began on October 17, according to [ladepeche.fr].
Stores including Pull & Bear, Manfield, Lacoste, Armand Thiery, Zara, Rituals, Etam, and Undiz participated in the Sunday trading hours.
While participation grew compared to previous weekends, foot traffic remained low as shoppers largely stayed away from purchasing goods.
“The decision to open was taken in view of the losses recorded during numerous Saturdays,” a local merchant on rue d’Alsace-Lorraine told [ladepeche.fr]. “We don’t have the choice today. We’ve lost so much that we’re forced to open on Sunday. It’s catastrophic.”
Store operators reported minimal customer turnout despite the expanded business hours. Many potential buyers walked past display windows without entering the retail spaces.
“We were just out for a walk,” Sonia and Lucie told [ladepeche.fr]. “We didn’t know the shops were open. We hadn’t planned to go shopping.”
Other pedestrians said that Sunday shopping does not fit their usual weekend routines.
“We had planned to go to the market, but not to hit the shops,” Damien told [ladepeche.fr]. “It’s not really our habit. We’re saving ourselves for Christmas, with the market and the atmosphere.”
Store managers expressed doubts regarding the profitability of the Sunday openings. “It’s not very conclusive,” Giovanni, a work-study employee at Armand Thiery Homme, told [ladepeche.fr]. “Since it’s an exceptional Sunday, customers aren’t necessarily forewarned. We try to make do with people passing in the street, to put up posters on the windows, but it’s complicated.”
Michel, the manager of the Manfield footwear store, opened his shop without sales staff to limit operating costs. “I decided to be here all by myself, without my sellers,” Michel told [ladepeche.fr]. “But I don’t expect there to be a lot of people. There’s really no forecast, I don’t know what’s going to happen or if it will be profitable.”