“With 28 businesses per 1,000 inhabitants, Paris enjoys one of the highest commercial densities in the world,” welcomes the Paris town hall, which has just published a study on the evolution of Parisian businesses between 2020 and 2023. Carried out by the City of Paris, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and the Parisian Urban Planning Workshop (Apur), it made it possible to identify no less than 60,846 shops, bars and restaurants or commercial services on the some 83,154 ground floor premises present on the streets of the capital. That is to say “a drop limited to -1.4%” over the last three years, “despite the health crisis”, notes the City. A relative stability which even hides some key changes in the typology of Parisian businesses.
Among them, the study highlights the appearance of 863 so-called “emerging” businesses, established in Paris between 2020 and 2023. “Reflecting new aspirations and developments in society, this category concerns activities initially little present or new”, the report states. In this area, we observe in particular a strong increase in the food trade. An increase of 4% (i.e. 310 new businesses opened), which reflects “the desire of Parisians to have access to local businesses” when “a contrario, the rise of online commerce has notably had consequences on businesses of personal equipment (ready-to-wear, shoes, jewelry, etc.) with a drop of 8%. That is to say the disappearance of 621 businesses of this type out of the 7,300 existing.
And the least we can say is that the figures are striking: between 2020 and 2023, the number of patisseries, hypermarkets and specialized supermarkets increased respectively by 22%, 33% and 44%, when the number of tailors, childcare stores and women’s ready-to-wear fell by 22%, 20% and 15% at the same time. Other notable facts: the number of CBD sales points has literally exploded (405%), going from 22 stores in 2020 to 89 in 2023, as has the number of nail salons and other smile bars, up by 20 % and 100%. The second-hand market is also doing well, with 39% more bicycle repairers and 28% more second-hand stores.
Does this mean that the face of Paris, the fashion capital, will change profoundly? “No,” immediately responds Nicolas Bonnet-Ouladj, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of commerce and crafts, who assures, on the eve of the opening of Fashion Week in Paris, that “the The commercial vitality of the major ready-to-wear houses is doing very well. “The problem is rather the big chains such as C
Same concerns regarding fast food restaurants, up 10% between 2020 and 2023, which “generate a lot of waste”. The same applies to CBD sales points, which “are not regulated by the law in the same way as tobacco bars”, deplores the elected official, and “can, for example, be set up very close to a school”. “We are calling for legislating a little on CBD, to ensure controls on sales and prevent them from becoming coffee shops,” he continues, referring to the “legal vagueness” surrounding the emergence of these new businesses. Same thing for nail salons, these small shops which offer hand and foot nail polish applications, increasing from 470 in 2020 to 565 in 2023.
A notable increase which did not escape Nicolas Bonnet-Ouladj, more inclined to defend small artisans and “Made in Paris” than manicurists. The elected communist even mentions “a new trend” that we will have to “follow closely”, in particular to avoid certain streets being condemned to “mono-activity” and the exclusive presence of these shops. Especially since, as he points out, they are far from being particularly virtuous in environmental matters, due to the “harmful solvents” that they use as part of their main activity. While the City of Paris is “in full review of its local urban plan (PLU)”, the deputy specifies that he is ready to “protect the commercial lines of certain districts” and to “pre-empt” when this is necessary, precisely to prevent them from only welcoming these “emerging” businesses.
However, he is delighted with a “rather positive trend” around food businesses: “The number of pastry shops, caterers, wine shops, cheese shops… continues to increase and we are seeing more and more streets offering real customer journeys .” “All studies show that diversity strengthens commercial dynamism,” assures the elected official, who assures that the City intends to fight, “as it did on “dark kitchens” and “dark stores””, to defend these businesses. In total, 310 new food businesses were opened in the capital between 2020 and 2023, reflecting, according to the study, “the desire of Parisians to have access to local businesses to carry out their daily purchases”.
“The new commercial establishments with 863 “emerging” businesses and an overall increase in the number of fishmongers, bakeries, greengrocers, wine merchants… show the vitality, audacity and energy of Parisian merchants,” welcomes the president of the CCI of Paris, Soumia Malinbaum, who calls for “encouraging and supporting” the dynamism of traders. How ? By supporting them on questions of “energy efficiency, accessibility and digital transition” but also “integration of design, in stores and windows as much as in products”. In addition, Nicolas Bonnet-Ouladj invites Parisians to change their consumption patterns. To help them, he wants to launch “a communication campaign with customers” as well as “an application with the Paris je t’aime tourist office”, on which businesses labeled “Made in Paris” will be listed.
