Rennes – In Rennes, the fatal fall of a child leaves the neighborhood in shock – Le Télégramme

Only five Saturdays before Christmas. The big maneuvers have already started. These last two weekends have seen the most organized parents, alerted by the risks of shortages, stocking Santa’s hood in advance. The fear of empty shelves is receding (read elsewhere) and the preparation for the end of the year celebrations finds a semblance of normality, in the large shopping centers of Quimper, this Saturday, November 13.

Customers take turns in front of the richly stocked toy and gift areas of all kinds. But for many, it is still time to prospect. The big distributors seem ready. What about independent stores?

“We have anticipated our purchases from October”

In a gallery in downtown Quimper, the owner of the Ravy bookstore, potentially concerned by the threats of shortage, reassures. “With the tension on paper, we anticipated our purchases in October, made even more bets than usual on the stocks of books that we promote,” says Jean-Michel Blanc. These bets are not trivial because the ten days of December preceding Christmas, the bookstore achieves 17% of its annual turnover. All products combined, the place houses 80,000 references and its team of fifteen employees is reinforced by six people for the Christmas period.

The team also has to contend with a wobbly vinyl trend. “The market is up 30%, but it too has been under pressure for a year, because a pressing plant had burned down in 2020 in the United States. The Americans have used a lot in Europe. But there again, since the end of August, we have stored significant quantities on long-term securities, ”he reassures.

“A little anticipation, not as marked as in 2020”

On the Faubourg Saint-Corentin side, the shelves of Remue-Méninges, a game store, are stocked with around 4,500 references. “We feel a little anticipation of purchases, but not as marked as in 2020, before the November closure due to the pandemic. The more we advance towards December 24, the more it is tense, because there may be breaks at some publishers, but we are making larger stocks than usual to secure as much as possible on classic games, chess games. very popular at Christmas and introductory games, our priorities ”, describes Pierre Bernicot. His shop employs two employees and a work-study. “This is a vital period for us: we achieve 60-70% of our annual turnover in November-December,” he adds.

Delivery times up to four or five months

To the south of the city, in a small commercial complex, Damien Armal, from the Vélozen boutique, confirms a tendency of customers to prospecting, but also to ordering electrically assisted bicycles (VAE) for next spring. Delivery times, depending on the production rates programmed by the manufacturers and the availability of components, can be up to four or five months.

In a period when the enthusiasm for the bicycle is not slackening, “we have stock because we have anticipated on flagship products, on various ranges of bicycles, with an average basket of 3,000 euros”.

“Customers, increasingly young, want reliability, autonomy, see more and more the VAE as a second vehicle with the premium of the State”, he points out. If Vélozen has anticipated its orders, it is also because its team will integrate new premises (700 m2), three times larger, near Keradennec, in the old bedding facilities.

Forty comics packed on Friday

We leave Damien Armal when he is about to post on the leboncoin site the sheet of a used bike, because the consignment mode now concerns the VAE. Giving a second life to an object, even if it means offering it as a Christmas present, is proving to be an increasingly widespread practice. While Sony’s PlayStation 5 is out of stock, Chrystèle, a mother from the Quimper region, went there to find a PS2 in perfect condition for her teenager.

This is also the meaning of second-hand comics, sold at low prices by Christophe Duprat, at l’Introuvable, in the city center of Quimper. But other customers come to buy new albums, graphic novels and other manga. No less than 5,000 references in total, which will be inflated next Thursday by the delivery of 2,500 books in the run-up to Christmas. The store is already registering gift purchases. About forty comics were packed in the afternoon of Friday. A positive sign: in December, L’Introuvable achieves the equivalent of two and a half months of sales.