Highlight of the commercial season, the Grande Braderie de Toulouse unpacks on the sidewalks of the city. From this Thursday, September 8 and for three days, the opportunity is given to find the good bargain.
Start of the tenth edition of the Grande Braderie de Toulouse. This Thursday morning at 10 a.m., many buyers were already thronging to the storefronts of the city’s shops.
Promotions at -50% and even -70%, some brands in the city are waltzing prices and also labels.
Nearly 800 stores take over the sidewalks of the city center for 3 days for the big unpacking of the year. After the summer sales, the Grande Braderie has become an unmissable event for traders and bargain hunters.
At the bend in rue Saint Antoine du T, we meet Agathe.
The young woman is busy in a tray of a clothing store for children. She takes advantage of her last days of vacation to complete her children’s wardrobe, especially pajamas and basics, she tells us. “There’s no point in buying at full price, if you can get them cheaper at the sale.”
Alix also went to the clearance sale to find good deals, especially during this back-to-school period, she comes to find half the price. She notes that this year the prices are much more interesting and that the choice is there. Right away, she finds the labels at -50%.
Near Place St Georges, we meet Steeven and Aïmane. One is a student and the other is between two work contracts, the date of the sale falls at the right time for a shopping spree with friends. Both are supplied by certain brands whose prices they know well and know that now is when they can have them cheaper.
Usually they shop for clothes on the internet, but the clearance sale gives them the opportunity to come to town and try on the items directly, “at least we don’t have bad surprises like on the net.”
We discover Brigitte in front of a decorative items store on rue de la Pomme. She doesn’t really know what she’s looking for, maybe a vase that enchants me… she smiles. “I come to unearth something rare that I wouldn’t have bought spontaneously and when the price is so cheap, I can’t resist”.
In the main shopping street of Alsace-Lorraine, Ophélie crosses the Toulouse sale for the first time. She takes advantage of promotions on luxury pens discovered by chance during her wanderings to do her Christmas shopping. “I did not come with a precise but but to do good business and there are some, she rejoices. 50 euros per pen instead of 140 euros, suddenly the young woman anticipates and takes two, she knows that she will please during the holidays.
A major brand clothing store manager ensures that these three days of clearance sale are a commercial event. It achieves a large part of its turnover for the year over this period, sometimes more important than during the sales period.
“It allows massive destocking of old collections and serves as a call for new customers to discover the store”, she confides to us.
Philippe Léon, the president of the Merchants of Toulouse, confirms: “Between the calendar, the excessive heat, this year the summer sales have been catastrophic, there are a lot of goods and also a lot of very, very good deals for consumers.”
To announce the 10th anniversary of the Grande Braderie, a major communication effort has been made beyond the borders of Toulouse, so there will be a lot of visitors during these 3 days, including people from outside, explains Philippe Léon. Moreover, on this Thursday morning, well before the opening of the stores, there were already a lot of people in town, testifies the president of the Merchants.
The totally pedestrian city center
The organizers of the 2022 edition, including the Town Hall of Toulouse, the Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolis have planned the closure to car traffic in the hypercentre, during business opening hours.
At the request of the prefecture, a surveillance and pedestrian protection system has been put in place to prevent ramming cars in particular. Concrete barriers, metropolis cars in the middle of the road and security guards are part of the visible system.
To ensure the safety of pedestrians, other “more discreet” means of surveillance are also in place, confides Philippe Léon, and to continue: “Nice is on everyone’s mind. During large gatherings like the braderie, and since this risk exists, we make sure that does not happen.”
The great annual Toulouse sale will end on Saturday September 10 at 8 p.m.