In the absence of closing the annual balance, they suspect that the drop in sales will be less than that of 2020 and will not reach 10%.
The Association of Merchants of the Old Town of Bilbao faces the sales period that will open this Friday, January 7, “wanting to sell”, but “wisely” to maintain sanitary measures against covid at all times.
Speaking to Europa Press, the president of the Casco Viejo Merchants Association, Rosa Pardo, stated that, as soon as the figures for 2021 are closed, “there will be loss of sales compared to 2019, but undoubtedly much lower than that of 2020“According to their forecasts, the fall will not reach 10%.
He has ensured that 2021 has been a year in which merchants have had to “put the batteries” to adapt to the circumstances, to the new demands of two clients and to new forms of consumption, to continue thus being “a competitive trade “. As he highlighted, “those of us who continue with open doors have succeeded.”
In this sense, he has indicated that the number of shops has been reduced “slightly” in 2021, since, as he pointed out, “the greatest falls were at the beginning of 2020”, while in 2021 there has been “greater stability”. Thus, it has indicated that the businesses that have closed are practically people who had retirement already “very close and have simply decided to advance that retirement a little because they did not have a generational change”, but, “in general, people have known how to digitize and adapt to this new moment“.
Pardo has underlined the good functioning of the discount voucher campaigns launched by the Basque Government, Bilbao City Council and the Bizkaia Provincial Council, and has ensured that the trade association faces the sales period “wanting to sell”, but ” with prudence”. In any case, they trust that there is no problem because people “are very aware that you have to respect gauges, be careful and maintain all hygiene measures.”
Regarding trade aid, he regretted that they have arrived “late”, although he understands that it is “not easy” for the institutions to implement these aid quickly and effectively. However, he warned that “for businesses that were suffering from more than drastic economic restrictions, the fact that these grants are delayed supposes a lot“.
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