The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BAY Street merchants expressed mixed reaction to the Cabinet Office notice telling them they had to close their businesses yesterday, one telling Tribune Business: “We haven’t been making money no matter what day it is.”

The Cabinet Office published a notice last week stating that all retailers - apart from food stores, pharmacies and gas stations - “must be kept closed” on Monday, as mandated by Section 3 of the Public Holiday Act.

The Downtown Nassau Partnership told Tribune Business it was seeking the Government’s support in amending the Act to allow all stores in the downtown area to remain open during public holidays, noting that Bay Street and downtown retailers had previously been exempted from the Public Holidays Act.

Philip King, owner of Smoker’s Haven, estimated that closure would have cost him several hundred dollars depending on how many ships were in port.

“I can’t say I agree with that move at all,” he said. “It’s insane to have people come to your port and everything is closed. You have folks from the hotels coming downtown, too. They love to shop when it’s less crowded.

“We have ships here every day that we rely on, and with a holiday, you might as well tell the ships not to come. People want to shop and buy souvenirs and things. People are always complaining on some holidays when most of the stores don’t open, especially the jewellery stores. They want to know why they stopped to this port and why they couldn’t stop to another port where they could shop.”

Verdie Farquharson-Kriz, owner of Regal Bohemia, said she did not understand what all the fuss over the Cabinet Office notice was about, telling Tribune Business: “This is not something that’s very new, it has happened in the past.

“We haven’t been making any money no matter what day it is. This one holiday, or a particular holiday, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Business generally has been bad for many years.

“I don’t see anything to fuss about because this has been happening. This was my worst year, but hopefully things will get better.”

Ms Farquharson-Kriz, who sells crystal, porcelain and jewellery, said the world economic downturn was the main reason for the drop in business over the years.

”People aren’t travelling the way they did,” she said. “People from the ships don’t buy - period - and when they do they want to bargain it down to little or nothing. They know it’s good quality stuff.”

Peter Philips, managing director of the Brass and Leather Shops, distributor of Fendi in the Bahamas while not commenting directly on the Emancipation Day saga, told Tribune Business: “We have stayed open on holidays and seen not that great a business.”

He added: “I think business on downtown Bay Street is still very challenging for high-end businesses, especially. When we do occasionally get high-end people on the cruises, business is good. We are competing against shops on the cruise ships themselves. If they can get the people to spend money on the cruise ship that’s what they will do. We could see a lot of people on Bay Street and see almost no business from the cruise ships. We are selling high-end merchandise and it just could be that all those people have literally $10 to spend.”