December belongs to commerce. But who thinks about February?

December is the month of commerce par excellence. It is a month received with enthusiasm. The lights are on, the shop windows ready, the streets full, there are institutional campaigns, Black Friday, Christmas Fair, the Tió… Everything seems to accompany it. But when the wave passes, what is left? Because the reality is that many historic shops continue to close. And if we don't focus beyond the punctual impulse, if we don't think long-term, if we don't provide real tools to professionalize, local commerce will continue to fall little by little, in silence.

The transition from merchant to retailer is a change of mentality. It is moving from living day-to-day to building a business project. It is stopping putting out fires to think about margins, brand, experience, community. And for that, passion is not enough: resources, training, strategic support, and measures that accompany this difficult leap are also needed. Because, to this day, real aid to create long-lived commerce still does not arrive. Barcelona protects old furniture, but it does not protect the essential, which is the desire to continue providing service.

Forn La Llana, in the Sant Pere neighborhood, is an example of this. In a recent interview, the owners explained that they have been lighting the oven every dawn for decades. But their succession is not assured, because the son does not want (nor does anyone) to go to bed at six in the afternoon to get up at half past eleven and work at night. They have been offered to open all kinds of businesses in their premises, but no artisan bakery. And their premises are not cataloged as protected either. Everything depends on their workforce, until one day the business disappears.

And what about the Valls hardware store, on Comte d'Urgell street? With 125 years and five generations serving the neighborhood, it was not declared emblematic because they changed the drawers. How can patrimonial value weigh more than human value? In this case, the family team has known how to adapt, resisting the advance of large surfaces first and now opening up to online commerce. But not everyone can, nor does everyone want to, because to innovate, one must take a risk.

And accompanying commerce is not putting up a commemorative plaque or declaring a facade as historic. It is training, supporting in generational transition, facilitating transfers, promoting digital transformation. It is truly listening to the needs of each neighborhood and each store.

In our city, we have many examples that could inspire this change. Businesses that combine heritage with evolution, and that endure because they have known how to stay alive. But also because they have had an environment that, at least for a time, has respected them.

Therefore, at this time of year, it is a good moment to reflect on the culture of commerce. A culture that looks to the past to project itself into the future, that does not limit itself to managing the symbolic, but rather bets on an economic and strategic foundation, also, capable of activating grassroots commerce in the neighborhoods. That provides real resources to those who are willing to take the step from stallholder to entrepreneur. Because without that change in mentality, without that joint commitment to craft and enterprise, traditional commerce will remain just that: traditional. But not necessarily long-lived.

In our city, we have businesses that have withstood wars, crises, and lockdowns. But we cannot continue to trust that they will simply survive. We need a more political, economic, and emotional foundation so that it is not necessary to wait until December to talk about commerce. Because if we don't take care of the day-to-day, February will arrive…