Global retailers are gearing up for Black Friday on 29 November, and many are already investing in massive advertising campaigns and offering substantial discounts. But one initiative in Brussels is aiming to put local businesses in the spotlight.
Now in its third year, the City of Brussels this week launched its "responsible alternative" to the annual retail bonanza: Local Friday. From Monday 25 November to Sunday 1 December, the initiative gives a platform to local retailers in Brussels to promote their own deals to raise business.
Noémi Paris Antelo, a spokesperson for the regional business network Entreprendre Bruxelles, tells The Brussels Times that the initiative is about giving visibility to smaller sellers who are competing with the advertising budgets of huge retailers.
"The Black Friday period is obviously present and we can't replace it. Instead, we want to help retailers in the City of Brussels by giving them visibility when they do promotional actions or little gifts they offer their customers," she said.
"We don't force them to do anything, it's just that they let us know what they're doing and we organise the communication campaign around that, with a substantial budget where we reserve urban billboards in the metro or on the streets, or issue press releases."
Antelo explains that the initiative was launched at the request of shopkeepers who were looking for help to remind Brussels residents about local businesses during the Black Friday period when people are more inclined to spend money.
"It's also more responsible to shop more locally. So you're enabling customers to make good purchases. The biggest impact is in terms of brand awareness for local shops."
Small business, small margins
Gabrielle Fabry and Anne-Catherine at Moirés store in Brussels. Credit: Ellen O'Regan
Gabrielle Fabry is the owner of Moirés, a boutique screen printing shop on Rue du Marché au Charbon in Brussels city centre that offers creations of Belgian illustrators, printers and paper artisans. She says that Black Friday can be a tough time as a small retailer, as it can be hard to find space in narrow margins to offer extra discounts.
"I feel like for some people it's good that Black Friday exists because they can buy something they can't afford the rest of the time. But I have a small shop. Usually we can't do such big reductions because the margin is so small. I have to think a lot about offering a 10% discount, because sometimes I only earn 20% myself," Fabry says.
Moirés is offering a 10% discount for Local Friday week in the hope that it will kickstart the Christmas season and encourage people to think of local producers. "Christmas is the best time of the year for a small business so it's really important to shop local. If you shop local you help me to live, you help all the artists to live, that's really important."
Juliette Beraud and Fanny Bougerol, co-founders of Flash Capsules in Brussels. Credit: Ellen O'Regan
A few streets over from Moirés, on Rue des Chartreux, Flash Capsules is a concept store that offers sustainable Belgian and French creations from clothing to homeware, with a focus on up-cycling and micro-production.
Co-owner Fanny Bougerol explains that instead of offering a discount to customers for Black Friday, they are instead giving away extra gifts with purchases, like candles and soaps made by Brussels designers.
"We get a lot people coming in and asking if we're having a sale. But we're a different kind of shop and we explain to them that the price is right and that it will be like that all year round. Even if it's very difficult to pass up the Black Friday sale, we don't do it. We're never going to align ourselves with these sales which are aimed more at the industry."
"All in all I don't think it's too complicated to explain that we don't have Black Friday sales. Instead we take the opportunity to spoil our loyal customers in a different way by offering something that's well made and well designed."
Against the tide of fast fashion
Meanwhile, on Rue Pletinckx, "aesthete kidswear" is also taking part in Local Friday, offering a €25 voucher back for every €100 spent on bespoke and sustainably produced children's clothes.
Owner Inga Lichtenfeld focuses on slow fashion and producing high quality clothing from her atelier at the back of her store. She says that the pressure to offer Black Friday discounts is difficult for small retailers who are so dependent on the Christmas retail boost.
"I think that it's something that is very difficult for local commerce, because we are going into the best selling season after coming out of seasons that are difficult to deal with, so I think we should have the chance to make it up in this period."
The current economic climate means people have less disposable income but Lichtenfeld says that by spendng a little more at a local store rather than a big online retailer, consumers get better quality.
"The general situation is not easy, people have less money and they don't want to spend it, which is normal. But I think people in Brussels like it [slow fashion]. It's for them to know if there's a problem with a garment, they can come and I will do everything possible to make it good again. You don't find the same quality [online] so I think it's not really a competition."
A full list of local Brussels retailers participating in Local Friday can be found here.
