Covid does not spare even the perfumeries. At least not those of the Douglas group, which as part of an international corporate restructuring plan announced the closure of five outlets in Piedmont, out of 128 that will lower the shutter throughout the country. There are 12 Douglas perfumeries in Piedmont and with this closure plan, around thirty employees by March next year will find themselves without a job. For some of them there are still several months of layoffs available, for others a few weeks.
It has already closed on February 14th, with a mocking coincidence with the feast of Valentine’s Day, which for perfumeries represents, together with the Christmas holidays, one of the richest events of the year, the shop in via San Donato. Next year, again in Turin, the one in via Chiesa della Salute (February 2022) and then Piazza Santa Rita (March 2022). Before then, the store in the center of Biella will also stop operating, for which it is expected to close in May, and the one in Pinerolo, with end of activity in January 2022. The final list was presented to the unions on 24 March: according to the company, a German multinational with outlets across the continent, the Covid 19 pandemic, lockdowns activated in many countries and competition from online sales have resulted in a drop in turnover such as to require a reorganization. In fact, scrolling through the numbers illustrated in recent weeks to the workers’ representatives, there is an evident decline. The Pinerolo store, for example, in 2020 had a turnover of 25 percent less than in 2019, and between January of this year and October of the one just ended, there was a further drop of 15 percent.
“Closing like this is too easy – asserts Massimiliano Santucci of Fisascat Cisl – we understand the difficulties but we must protect the workers, 95 percent of women who are extremely fragile subjects in the current labor market”. A new meeting is scheduled for April 9 between Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and Uiltucs and the company. “At that time we will ask for an extra effort – explains Santucci – the company told us about six expressions of interest in the purchase, but did not give us details: we want to avoid the stew which we have already had the opportunity to test the consequences in the Auchan and Conad affair. At national level – he adds – we are talking about 128 stores closing and 500 workers: the Ministry of Economic Development must convene a crisis table “.
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