MASTER MECHANICS

80 LETTER FROM FRANCE europa star
888888France
The suburbanites love their watches
At the Rosny 2 shopping centre, in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, near Paris,
the watch market seems to be doing quite well. A first-hand report.
Like all shopping centres as we approach the holiday season, that of
Rosny 2 in Seine-Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, has its own
Santa Claus. Wearing a red cape and hat trimmed with faux fur, with a
fluffy white beard, he promises gifts to the children who are delighted
to pose for a quick picture with him. The young Muslims are especially
lucky. In one month, they enjoy not only the celebrations of Eid but
also the Nativity.This festive syncretism delights merchants, even if the
parents are not so thrilled.
Rosny 2 is twelve minutes from Paris by the RER, the express regional
train that serves the suburbs around the capital. Upon descending
from the train, the visitor sees, next to the rail lines, the neighbourhood
of Bois-Perrier, with its medium-sized buildings on one side and the
spacious, well-lit, and attractive shopping mall on the other. Making
this centre even more attractive is the cinema multiplex, UGC Ciné Cité
Rosny, with fifteen theatres, a preferred destination for adolescents.
The latest Harry Potter film is currently a big draw.
Let’s take a look around at some of the stores. One of the shoppers,
Karima, is at the mall this day, to find something for her daughter—
who will soon celebrate her fourth birthday—for Eid and Christmas.
The young mother is looking in the watch and jewellery boutique, ‘L’Or
du Temps’, on the ground floor next to the large H&M store. “It is
nearly a year now that my daughter talks about getting her first
watch,” she tells me. “I am looking for a Flik Flak.” At this store, there
are Guess, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Festina and Lotus,
as well as other timepieces, but no Flik Flaks. The store does not carry
children’s watches.
Saturday shoppers
Karima wears a Guess. “It is my first Guess, and my third watch in all.
It does not last more than a year and a half. My next one will also be a
Guess, but I am waiting for the square model to come out. My brother
has a Festina.” Karima leaves the boutique without a gift for Elyes, but
she still has a few days to find a Flik Flak.
It is Saturday, and the many shoppers, alone or in small groups, stroll
through the corridors of the mall. A young woman wearing a foulard
over her hair stops in front of one of the windows of L’Or du Temps. “I
have a watch in mind, a square one, silver and gold, like my wedding
ring,” she explains. “This will be my first watch. I don’t plan on something
that is more than 120 euros, but it is not me who will buy it,” she
adds, happy at the idea of getting her first timepiece.
A young man arrives, her husband, the future buyer of the watch. Her
name is Touria, his is Youssef. When asked about the price of the
watch, he answers that he has a budget of 160 euros maximum. His
wife smiles as she reveals the amount that she was planning. He is
wearing a Festina, the same for the last four years, in shiny steel. “It
still works and I don’t have any plans to change it in the immediate
future,” he says.Youssef and Touria just moved to Pierrefitte-sur-Seine,
in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, the phantasmagorical 93.
Earlier, they lived in Alsace. He works at the atomic energy commission
and she is training at the hospital.
Yvonnick, 25 years old, a salesperson at L’Or du Temps, seems quite selfconfident
in her business suit as she gives an overview of the store’s customers.
“Young girls purchase for their boyfriend. In the high-end range,
it is the man who comes in to choose his watch,” she explains.“Here, we
sell primarily brands, rather modern watches, not intended for the long
term.The clients come back often to change them. Our clients are mostly
young and those above 40 years, whose choices generally centre on the
brands Certus and Go. The retired clients like Go. What is really popular
with the boys is the ado-sport styles such as Festina and Lotus. Some
people pick out a watch as a function of their clothing or musical tastes.
Guess, for example, with its bling-bling and hip-hop sides, fairly loaded,
fairly thick, is appreciated by girls as well as boys.”