In September, fashion chain sales in France recorded exceptional growth, rising by 24.5%, but the chains’ performance was weaker the following month. In October, the store-generated revenue of fashion chains rose by a modest 0.8% over October 2023, as reported by the Retail Int. survey for French retail association Alliance du Commerce (AdC)*.

Business in October was driven by “the strong performance of the premium segment,” said AdC, as well as by energetic results in the city of Paris, where the revenue of fashion chains increased by 9.3%, having benefited from a “fresh wave of tourism” in the capital.

In France as a whole, not every retail sector was equally buoyant. October was a tough month for businesses in retail parks and mixed development zones, whose revenue fell by 5.1%, as did that of outlet stores, which however lost only 2.4%. Revenue was virtually stagnant (down 0.8%) in stores within suburban shopping malls, while revenue for retailers in city-centre malls grew by 3.7%. The highest rise was posted by stores located on city-centre high streets, whose sales increased by a significant 8.3% in October.

In the same period, footfall in fashion chain stores grew by 1.3% over a year ago. “For the third month in a row, in-store traffic was higher than last year, confirming that customers are coming back to physical stores,” said AdC. A small confidence boost for Yohann Petiot, the association’s managing director, who is hoping “that the momentum will remain positive during the holiday season, so essential for retailers’ success.”

The only other negative signal was the slump in fashion retailers’ online sales, which fell 1.8% in October compared to 2023. Since the start of the year, the online revenue of fashion retailers has decreased by 2.2%. In the same period, sales in physical stores have remained stable, up by 0.1%, compared to January-October last year.

*The survey analysed the results of some 60 chains, comprising more than 10,000 stores in France. They include Celio, Levi’s, Petit Bateau, Dim, Orchestra, Etam and Mango, while Inditex chains, H&M and Primark were not included.