Desenzano Officials Oppose Changing Winter Sales Date Amid Merchant Concerns

“I am very sorry to get into a debate with the trade associations because everyone who knows my administrative actions knows I have never made a decision without consulting them first,” begins Emanuele Giustacchini, Deputy Mayor and Tourism Councilor of Desenzano, in response to the harsh reply from Confesercenti and Ascom regarding the winter sales, about which, as is remembered, both Mayor Cino Anelli and Giustacchini himself had taken a different stance.

While the associations have stated they agree with the date of January 20 set by the Region, the municipal administrators had hinted at wanting to accept the requests “from many merchants to advance that date.” But then, what happened: you and the mayor say you tried to raise awareness with the Region to obtain earlier sales, while the trade categories reply that their members “have never asked for such a derogation.”

The initiatives of municipal authorities and responses from the categories

“Both I and the mayor,” Giustacchini continues, “have moved to raise awareness with the Region on this issue. We did so, I repeat, at the urging of many merchants. And I think that’s a point in our favor. We have never dreamed up this situation, nor have we invented the problem.” What is your reply to the leaders of the commercial operators?

“Architect Raffaella Visconti Curuz, who has only recently started dealing with commerce, perhaps doesn’t realize that a decades-old tradition of winter sales cannot be changed by a regional decree, also because the fight should perhaps be against illegal sales. We believe,” concludes the deputy mayor, “that postponing the date of the sales is a serious mistake, and we say this to protect the merchants of Desenzano.” Furthermore, Giustacchini also recalled the example of nearby Sirmione, where the local Ascom had requested (unsuccessfully) an advance of the winter sales.

Why the preservation of tradition is preferred

The thesis of Anelli and Giustacchini is, essentially, that it is “necessary to promote the city’s tourism also through a better distribution of sales and seasonal discounts, just as occurs in all high tourist and commercial density locations.”