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Bloomberg
Amazon.com Inc and other major retailers in France agreed to postpone Black Friday amid an outcry from smaller rivals, which have been campaigning to re-open physical stores before the promotional event.
Amazon and traditional
retailers, including Galeries Lafayette department stores, agreed to postpone the shopping holiday from November 27 to December 4.
All non-essential stores in France have been shut since
October 30 when authorities imposed new restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. The lockdown is set to end on December 1.
“Today, as many other French retailers and following the government’s recommendation, we decided to postpone Black Friday if this enables retailers to reopen before December 1,†Frederic Duval, general manager at Amazon France, said in a statement.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire praised brick-and-mortar store owners as well as online retailers for agreeing to postpone Black Friday by a week provided shops can re-open by November 27, according to a statement after a meeting with industry representatives.
Le Maire said reopening non-essential stores with a massive promotional event that could generate crowds in stores would be irresponsible amid the pandemic threat.