Winter / summer sales calendar 2023 and 2024 – Date and origin, sales: dates, good deals, regulations
Sales: dates, good deals, regulations
Summer sales will take place on the following dates:
Summer and winter sales calendar – Date and origin

Attention, The pact law of May 22, 2019 modified the operation of the sales, from 2020 they took place on 4 weeks instead of 6. The ECOI decree1911930A fixes this decision.
2024 winter sales dates
Winter sales will take place on the following dates:
- From Wednesday January 10 to Tuesday, February 6, 2024
The date is variable, the winter sales start the 2nd Wednesday in January, unless it falls after the 12th, in which case they start on the 1st Wednesday, and settle for 4 weeks (novelty 2020).
Winter sales last From Tuesday 2 to Monday 29 January 2024 In Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle and in the Vosges.
In 2024, winter sales will take place from Wednesday January 10 to Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
Dates of summer sales 2024
Summer sales will take place on the following dates:
- From Wednesday June 26 to Tuesday July 23, 2024
The date is variable, the summer sales begin on the last Wednesday in June, unless it falls after the 28th, in which case they start the penultimate Wednesday, and spread over 4 weeks (novelty 2020). Attention, Summer sales last From Wednesday 3 to Tuesday July 30, 2024 in the Alpes-Maritimes (06) and Pyrénées-Orientales (66).
In Corsica-du-Sud (2A) and Haute-Corse (2b), they last From Wednesday July 10 to Tuesday August 6, 2024.
In 2024, summer sales will take place from Wednesday June 26 to Tuesday July 23, 2024.
To consult the dates of the winter and summer sales in the overseas departments, click here. For your shopping during the sales, find the list of fashion stores in your town on MagasinVently.Fr.
Operation of the sales
The progress of the sales is strictly supervised by law, but the regulations were relaxed in 2008 and traders could offer short sales throughout the year (floating sales).
The government returned to this provision, law n ° 2014-626 of June 18, 2014 ending the 2 weeks of floating sales by putting them at the end of the classic sales, which therefore last 6 weeks instead of 5.
Within the framework of the PACT law on the growth and transformation of companies, the duration of the sales has been reduced to 4 weeks by ECOI decree1911930a of May 27, 2019.
A calendar governed by the government
The sales are framed by laws set by the Commercial Code. Two types of sales exist: national sales and floating sales.
National, summer and winter sales are limited to 4 consecutive weeks per season and start at 8 a.m . No particular approach is to be carried out.
The Commercial Code also establishes certain derogations concerning border departments and overseas territories.
In 2013, in the Eastern Departments such as Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges and Moselle, winter sales began 1 week earlier so that these departments could line up with neighboring countries whose sales regulations differ. 2
The old floating sales device
Floating sales corresponded to 2 weeks per year, continuous or not. These free sales were set by the law of modernization of the economy of August 2008 and repealed in June 2014. The Commercial Code has been updated accordingly and the rule is valid from winter sales 2015.
Floating sales could not take place in the month preceding national sales 3 . To be able to offer these sales, the merchant had to complete a declaration 1 month before the scheduled date.
The removal of this system is a return to the usual progress of the sales before 2008. Floating sales had been introduced under Fillon as part of the law of modernization of the economy, but the effects observed were almost zero, as reported by a report from the Credoc and the French fashion institute in November 2010.
In the following report published in July 2012, the rapporteurs simply proposed the deletion of floating sales on the following arguments:
- None of them was noted, both on sales level and on the price level;
- Merchants use the device less and less, with a 20% drop in declarations in 2 years, which reaches 41% if the floating sales prolonging the conventional sales;
- The clothing sector, in crisis since the end of 2007, is particularly up against the successive periods of sales;
- Consumers make no difference between sales and promotions, the latter becoming very common throughout the year.
The government followed the reporters’ recommendations and thus discreetly made the measure in early summer 2014.
Rules to respect
Traders have rules to be respected during sales. Sales items for example must have been sold at least one month before 3 and the initial price and the discount must be displayed on the product. During sales periods, the store must also carry out an implementation which makes it possible to differentiate the articles ended from others.
Solid items must also benefit from the same guarantees as unsold products. For example, a merchant has the right to refuse the exchange or refund of an item in the event of a hidden defect.
History of sales
The principle of the sales was born in the 19th century with the implementation of fixed prices and the appearance of department stores which had to regularly renew their stock and therefore quickly sell the remaining items 4 .
Mannoury and Boucicaut, the trade in new products
It is a priori at the Normand Simon Mannoury that we owe the invention of the sales, among other innovations which laid the foundations of modern trade. Indeed, in its novelties store Le Petit Saint-Thomas located on rue du Bac in Paris, Mannoury sets up a low price policy, with fixed prices displayed, performs correspondence sales with Franco de Port, organizes collections temporary and famous balance periods. Mannoury had even bought a donkey who walked the children while the customers were shopping.

In 1834, a young man of 24, Aristide Boucicaut, was hired as a seller at Petit Saint Thomas. Boucicaut learns a lot of Mannoury’s methods, and climbs the ladder until the store closed in 1848. In 1852 he founded the Bon Marché store, and until his death in 1877, this engineering merchant implemented the methods learned from Mannoury, while innovating: public relations program, career development in the company , provident fund levied on profits and pension fund for employees. 4
A rapid evolution
The appearance of department stores and the use of prices displayed are necessary for the sales, since the principle of the latter is to display the original price and the discount, with the aim of getting rid of the unsold season of the season. At the beginning the sales only concerned the products related to fashion, but in the 20th century the principle began to extend and concern appliances for example.
With the arrival of the Internet, e-commerce sites have appeared and the sales regulations also apply to online sale. For these sites, the dates of the sales are the same as for merchants, no matter where the company’s headquarters are located .
The other major modification of the sales system is related to the articles concerned. At the beginning only the textile sector was concerned. Today the sales concern both appliances and computer appliances or travel.
References
- See https: // www.economy.gouv.FR/DGCCRF/Consumption/Sales-Sales/Sales
- See http: // www.economy.gouv.FR/DGCCRF/Consumption/Sales-Sales/Sales
- See http: // Vosdroits.public service.FR/Professionals-business/F20566.xhtml
- See this interview with Florence Brachet-Champsaur on LCI: http: // lci.TF1.fr/Economy/Consumption/How-Sont-Nes-les-Soldes-6928086.html
Old sales advertisements
Two old photos of advertisements for sales, at the end of the 19th and early 20th century.


Sale calendar in DOM
In the overseas departments, the sales take place on special dates, below the detail.
Guadeloupe (971)
- Winter balance: Wednesday January 10 to Tuesday, February 6, 2024
- Summer sales: from Saturday September 28 to Saturday October 26, 2024
Martinique (972)
- Winter balance: Wednesday January 10 to Tuesday, February 6, 2024
- Summer sales: Thursday 3 to Wednesday October 30, 2024
Guyana (973)
- Winter balance: Wednesday January 10 to Tuesday, February 6, 2024
- Summer sales: Wednesday June 26 to Tuesday July 23, 2024
Reunion (974)
- Winter balance: from Saturday 2 to Friday 29 September 2023
- Summer sales: Saturday February 3 to Friday March 1, 2024
Sales: dates, good deals, regulations

SALES. The sales are a commercial event during which traders practice many discounts to sell their unsold.
- Sales: Definition
- Date
- Functioning
- Legislation
- Participant brands
- Tips
- Exchange and reimbursement
- History of sales
The sales are a period during which many traders practice attractive discounts, but this commercial event is regulated. Dates, legal obligations, good deals. Here is everything you need to know about the sales.
Sales: Definition
Sales are a commercial operation used by merchants to help them sell their stock of unsold. Sales last several weeks (most often four) during which many promotions are made, whether in physical or online stores. This commercial operation occurs in France twice a year. In principle, winter sales start on a Wednesday in January and summer sales on Wednesday in June. The different shifters that mark it do not obey specific rules. Some traders announce a 2nd set (with a new drop in their prices) during the 2 nd week of sales, but it is not systematic.
On what date do the sales take place ?
The next sales will take place early 2024 online and in most French departments.
Note that Overseas, The sales are offset and take place on these dates:
- Corsica : From Wednesday July 12 to Tuesday August 8, 2023
- Guadeloupe : from Saturday September 30 to Friday October 28, 2023
- Martinique : From Thursday October 5 to Wednesday, November 1, 2023
- The meeting : from Saturday September 2 to Friday September 29, 2023
- Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon : From Wednesday July 19 to Tuesday August 15, 2023
- Saint-Barthélemy : from Saturday October 14 to Friday November 10, 2023
- Saint-Martin : from Saturday October 14 to Friday November 10, 2023
How the sales work ?
The sales are regulated sales, this appellation cannot therefore designate any discount period.
They must meet the following obligations:
- be accompanied or preceded by advertising.
- contribute to accelerate the flow of goods of which copies have been offered for sale and paid for at least one month on the start date of the sales period.
- include A price reduction announcement Within the limit of the stock to be sold (with the reference price and the reduction in percentage).
- allow consumers to clearly distinguish the alleged articles Unsaled articles.
- Respect the fixed periods imposed by law.
Note that during this period, The loss sale is authorized. In addition, since May 2022, a European directive obliges traders to indicate The lowest price for the past 30 days as a reference price or barred price. This protects consumers from false good deals with merchants who increase the prices a few days from the sales to inflate their discount percentage.
What text formalizes the dates of the sales ?
The sales are regulated by article L310-3 of the Commercial Code for the legal framework, the authorized periods and the goods concerned. It was completed in 2019 by article 16 of law n ° 2019-486 of May 22, 2019 relating to the growth and transformation of companies (PACTE). It modifies the determination of sales periods, now fixed by decree of the Minister responsible for the economy. The duration must now be understood Between three and six weeks.
Sales ?
The sales are followed by a vast majority of traders, whether they are independent or franchisees. Large brands and online stores are also very present during this event. During the last edition of the sales, we were able to find: Asos, Mango, Adidas, Cdiscount, Fnac, Darty, Boulanger, Rakuten, Sephora, King Jouet. If, originally, the sales concerned mainly ready-to-wear, they are now an opportunity to do good deals on household appliances, furniture, multimedia, high tech and telephony. For example, this year, the iPhone 14 and the Samsung Galaxy S23 were highly sought -after products.
What are the good plans of the sales ?
In addition to the discounts on articles, many brands also make special operations during the sales, with in particular the possibility of Combine more points on his loyalty account Thanks to purchases made or to benefit from immediate discounts on its basket according to the total amount of purchases (for example 10 euros offered for 100 euros spent). These additional offers generally take place during a short period of time, a day or two. The brands tend to use them to mark a highlight of the sales as the first day, the 2 nd set. or during the weekend.
In addition, many brands or brands set up Private sales before the sales. They thus offer prices broken in advance to members of their loyalty program.
Can we exchange a solid product ?
From a legal point of view, items purchased on sales must benefit from the same guarantees that other articles. The announcement “neither taken up nor exchanged” therefore does not exempt the seller from exchanging or reimbursing the article in the event of hidden defect, as recalled by article 1641 of the Civil Code. In the event of a hidden defect, the seller is required to replace the item or reimburse him. In addition, if a lack of conformity is identified within two years after purchase, the seller must repair, replace or reimburse. In other cases, the merchant is not not forced to reimburse or exchange the product, unless it advertises in stores or on cash tickets.
Since when do the sales exist ?
The concept of sales appears for The first time in 1830 When Simon Mannoury, founder of a Parisian department store, Little Saint-Thomas, decides to remind his fabrics and fabrics to liquidate the stock of the previous collection. In 1866, the idea was taken up by Aristide Boucicaut, founder of Bon Marché who created the “White Week”: a week of sales during which sheets were sold at reduced prices. Little by little, the sales are gaining momentum in France, so much so that a 1906 law comes to regulate them.
Purchasing power
- Prime inflation
- IDH ranking
- Fuel oil price
- Bonus repair
- fuel price
- Lion dog
- Anti-inflation basket
- Uber Taxi
- The most expensive wine in the world
- Budget 2023
- The most expensive wood in the world
- Free highway in France
- The most expensive hotel in the world
- The most expensive bottle of champagne in the world
- Prime Day
- The most expensive phone in the world
- The most expensive cigar in the world
- The most expensive fish in the world
- Accompanied driving: Price and conditions
- The most expensive computer in the world
- Bengal cat price
- The most expensive motorcycle in the world
