On the eve of Black Friday, central Barcelona saw offers and promotions to attract the public looking to adjust their needs according to their budget. However, the campaign has gone from being a one-off closure, with extraordinary performances, into a global phenomenon that grows stronger year after year. Yes, at the beginning of November, outlets are decorated for the occasion with bright advertisements and posters at the doorways inviting the consumer to plan their purchases. But the phenomenon has reached such a large extent that local trade is no longer able to compete with the efficiency of large e-commerce platforms.
Black Friday has its origins in the United States and is celebrated as the day after Thanksgiving, when companies need to liquidate stock. This festival is not celebrated in Spain, which is why traders cannot logically abandon the week that falls on the Christmas campaign, which is the most important of the year. “Black Friday importation in Spain is the worst invention ever because it only benefits large surfaces,” says Jordi, who works at a home appliances and products franchise in Barcelona.
For Prosper Puig, president of Barcelona Commercial Company – an entity with 24 commercial branches and representing 230,004 companies – the reinforcement of this phenomenon is “incomprehensible”. “On the sidelines of large companies, campaign participants could be franchisees and small businesses exposed to market pressures. It in no way involves extraordinary sales of small businesses,” he stresses.
Everyone agrees that Christmas sales have fallen sharply since the Black Friday period was extended. For a small cowboy pants and apparel shop in the Villa de Gracia neighborhood, this closure is “awesome.” “Discounts should be as always, as scheduled, liquidation of products when winter or summer ends, for example. The problem comes when large companies produce a lot of products, of questionable quality especially for this lockdown, and I try to position it as a discount, and it is not so,” Sostienen.
Puig is confident in the strong connection that Barcelona residents have with small businesses, but he is concerned about the impossibility of competing financially with large areas. “All efficiency is good while we are all playing the same cards. We are only asking for fiscal justice. Big companies are very attached to e-commerce without timelines and make extensive use of public space, but they are not taxed here like us,” Subraya said.
For many years, many companies have chosen not to participate in Black Friday because they are sure it will not benefit them. The most common case is that of Castañer Shoe Store, a company that has been making handmade sneakers since 1927. In this edition, in addition to not participating, it will reduce the closure since Black Friday is not committed to the manufacture of artisan fashions.
Barcelona is a heterogeneous city that still maintains its pulse locally, especially in areas such as Sants Montjuïc, Gracia, Horta Genardo or Nou Paris. The Carmel Comerç Association, the association of merchants from this old mountain district of the Catalan capital, adds value to the union and social fabric that generates a cohesive trade. “These companies work for the benefit of the residents of the neighborhood and we try to carry out educational campaigns, such as Carmel Escoles, to involve young people in local trade. In the center, small businesses compete to attract tourism, and here we struggle not to lower the curtains,” explains Encarna Puig, promoter of the organization.