He trade de Córdoba hopes to achieve the best Christmas campaign in recent years in 2024-2025. This was stated by the president of the Provincial Federation of the sector, Rafael Bados. “We hope for a good campaign. Perhaps the best of recent years, and we would like it to serve to give solidity to the commercial fabric of local businesswhich is mainly made up of micro-SMEs and self-employed workers. In the background, a job market which, after overcoming the Covid crisis, is becoming cheerful again. This week, for example, we learned that the capital had broken its record for employed people in the month of October, slightly exceeding 145,000.
They also started this end of activities of the week in open shopping centers, such as the “Jardin commercial” of Ciudad Jardín last Friday or next “Day of the Holy Rose”on the 29th. The loss of the concept of season due to the widespread warmth of autumn and abundance of offers or sales all year round, mark the end of the year in the sector.
This hope of a good campaign has been repeatedly hit in recent years by the two factors mentioned: prolonged heat and the appearance of Black Friday —Large platforms make offers and citizens can thus advance their Easter purchases. Regarding the climatological factormarketers even predict that it will eventually change the traditional concept of the season. Bados believes that this climate change “affects the traditional campaigns of the sector, and if this continues like this, we will have to rethink these classic seasons.”
“We always say that we look more at the sky than at a farmer,” says the president of the Abierto Centro Córdoba shopping center with humor. Manuel Blasco. “If the weather changes and cools down a bit, expectations can be very good,” he believes.
“Summers are getting longer, we arrive in November and we are in short sleeves, so the sale of summer items continues to the detriment of winter items. [los de mayor precio en textil y zapatería]”, something we are already used to,” said the manager of one of the city’s main companies, Toril Shoes, María Dolores Fernández. Another of the most active traders, in this case of the Santa Rosa Valdeolleros shopping center, of which she is the coordinator (although in this case she speaks for ABC in a private capacity) is María José Ruiz, owner of Construcciones Nati: “If the temperature is not suitable, winter clothes are not sold. This is reflected in the fact that on days when it is a little colder, sales increase.
“The time trick is already a classic every year, the the cold comes later and this affects textile companies, which do not sell what they should sell,” said the manager of the open shopping center Ciudad Jardín. Ramon Luqué. And on behalf of the Viñuela Open shopping center, its president, Manuel Calvo, explained that “there are very long spring-summer temperatures, so the Christmas campaign is combined with gifts.”
Liberalized discounts
The next November 29 The so-called Black Friday will take place, which will be the starting signal for the pre-sale.Christmas campaign marked by the feasts of the Constitution and the Immaculate Conception. “It is a campaign imported from the Anglo-Saxon model and which does not represent the best scenario for local commerce,” explained Bados. For the president of the provincial Ministry of Commerce, “we cannot have permanent offers and reductions, since we do not have the capacity; There is a part of the sector that can join, but it is not ideal for us with the Christmas campaign approaching.
The director of Centro Córdoba emphasized in the same sense: “We have been hearing about Black Friday since September, it is an invention that combines with the fact that in this country we can do sales 365 days every year for twelve years since they changed the law. For Manuel Blasco “we can do things occasionally, like hooks, but we cannot discount items this way, by 20 or 30% continuously because it is not profitable”.
María Dolores Fernández, from Toril, says she doesn’t even do Black Friday: “It’s a big delay. In fact, sales are generally paralyze for its cause throughout the month, this is something that only benefits large online sales platforms. “This is actually a big lie.” For Fernández “in Córdoba there is a culture of sales from the start of the season. And when the classic sales season arrives, you are forced to put a discount of 60%, 70% or 80%.
For her part, María José Ruiz, of Construcciones Nati, highlighted that “all this liberalization of discounts and sales greatly affects the small businessbecause we cannot offer the discounts that some platforms or big companies give and that half the time are lies, since they increase the price to return it to what it was before. To try to make this discount day profitable to a certain extent, the Santa Rosa-Valdeolleros open shopping center coincides with the Black Friday with Santa Rosa DayIn this case, traders are crossing their fingers that the cold weather will begin.
“This sales period doesn’t benefit much, plus it’s almost all year round, when there isn’t one thing there’s another, you go out into the street and you don’t know when the sales are happening anymore. sales,” underlined the manager. from the open shopping center Ciudad Jardín, Ramon Luque. “We don’t have much confidence in black friday campaign; Large formats continually have sales and offers. In this regard, there is already a certain reluctance on the customer, because we make offers 365 days”, said the head of commerce of Viñuela, Manuel Calvo. “We do not trust much in Black Friday, but in a Christmas campaign made of events and actions dynamic.”
“We don’t put much faith in Black Friday, but in a Christmas campaign made up of dynamic events and actions”
Manuel Calvo
CCA La Viñuela
Regarding this type of actions, and as already indicated, the open shopping center of Ciudad Jardín organized on Friday the ‘Commercial garden’. With special discounts and free tastings. Maestro Priego López Street was filled with activity, haircuts for Latin dances or children’s entertainment. The next event will be “Santa Rosa Day” (the 29th). It will include baking workshops, musical bingos, storytelling or gymkhanas, as well as a food drive and fundraiser for the upcoming Three Kings parade.
La Viñuela also has its activity days, but they are generally organized closer to the Christmas and throughout the holiday period.
In summary, local commerce in Cordoba is facing this Christmas campaign with the I hope to overcome to the challenges that have transformed sales dynamics in recent years. Despite the impact of Black Friday, constant offers and climate changes which lengthen the hot seasons, retailers are banking on creativity and proximity to attract customers.
Crucial period for the sector
The open shopping center activity days reflect an effort to strengthen the connection with the social fabric of the city, while seeking to differentiate itself from large platforms and chain stores. online sale. A classic in this regard are the attractions which is located in the heart of the city Centro Córdoba. Since 2019, the Town Hall has implemented the Cruz Conde Christmas sound and light show there, which this year presents a new and improved version — the Town Hall has increased its cost by 57%. One more hook to attract potential customers to stores.
and any attractive is welcome. Because, in this regard, Blasco recognized that “we have a society, especially made up of young people aged 40 and under, who make purchases 80% online, what we ask in all of this is that this be regulated”.
This period is therefore crucial not only for business figures, but also for revitalize a model which keeps the essence of the neighborhoods of Córdoba alive. Industry leaders agree that success lies not just in offers or discounts, but in the ability to offer unique experiences and valuing the relationship of trust with the customer.
Even as temperatures and regulations continue to affect sales, what remains unchanged is the commitment of these small and medium-sized businesses. Convinced that the Christmas spirit and local support will be the pillars of a great campaign, Córdoba is preparing to receive a Christmas full of hope for these companies. Of course, I look more at the sky than a farmer.
