The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BACK-to-school sales for 2012 to-date have been steady according to several retailers, who told Tribune Business yesterday that they were expecting a surge in business this weekend and next.

AML Foods chief executive and president, Gavin Watchorn, told Tribune Business: “The big back-to-school shopping really won’t start for us until this weekend and next weekend. For us in terms of school supplies, they’re moving - nothing out of the ordinary - but really it’s going to be this weekend and next weekend when the big surge normally occurs.

“We tend to wait until last minute, plus government pay-day is coming up. Generally it’s steady enough as it is ,but we’re not expecting the rush until the weekend.”

Peter Philips, managing director of the Brass and Leather shops, told Tribune Business: “I think it’s about the same. Retailers all took a significant downturn in 2008 and we are just sort of getting by nowadays.

“Business is fairly level as to what it was last year. It is back to school, so we are busy with back-to-school, but if you compare it to the past two years, we’re not seeing any increases.”

A buyer for Kelly’s told Tribune Business: “We usually have a steady flow of customers straight through. So far everything has been on schedule as normal. Most traffic will probably come through next week and the week before school opens.

“We usually have a steady flow when our back-to-school sale starts, the end of July up to September 3. Books, backpacks, pencils, lunch bags, nap mats are among the basic items that people come in for. Next week we will probably see a steady flow. Our busiest days are obviously during the weekend when most people are off from work.”

Jack Moree, owner of Sandy’s, said he expected business to pick up in the coming days.

“People are starting to come in. I guess most of them are waiting for government pay-day, so I guess we’ll see a lot more people coming in next week,” he added.

John Cathopoulis, operations manager at John’s Shoes and Accessories, told Tribune Business: “Right now we have back-to-school. Things are good. It’s business as usual.”