Every year, I am amazed by the way the Black Friday concept has been transposed to France, with retailers obviously missing part of the story. No big deal for me, since we specialize in US and Japanese equities, but yet, I welcome any views that might help me understand French retailers’ approach…
On Friday, November 24, 2023, a French furniture store chain had its windows covered with bright green film carrying “Black Friday” in big white letters. Granted, they must know what Friday means, but what about Black? Or is it that “Green is the new Black”?
On the same day, many service providers or other stores whose products don’t have any seasonal sales patterns were offering discounts. Do they know that clearance sales only make sense when you need to get rid of inventories, to make space for the new collections?
A few months earlier, in late July, a famous jewellery store on Paris’ Place Vendôme was sending text messages that read “Black Friday, c’est maintenant! Venez découvrir nos prix exceptionnels le lundi 24 juillet”. Is it so difficult to understand that a Friday, even Black, rarely falls on a Monday?
Last but not least, the reasons why French retailers find an interest in cutting prices aggressively in late November remains a mystery to me. As a reminder, Black Friday (and the following Cyber Monday) take place just after Thanksgiving, which marks THE family gathering in the US, well ahead of Christmas. With the key celebration now behind, it makes sense for US retailers to start clearance sales and prepare for the next season’s merchandise. However, in Europe, where Thanksgiving means nothing and where presents are traditionally bought for the year-end holidays, why do retailers feel obliged to offer deep discounts ahead of a period where they commonly realize a vast majority of their annual profits? (by the way, did you know that Black Friday was named that way because it came when stores’ accounts would finally turn from red ink to black ink, as profits made in that period started to offset losses made earlier in the year?)
The United States are definitely a great exporter of goods and technologies, but they also have an impressive ability to export their traditions, even to countries where they don’t make sense.
HG – November 26, 2023