The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN retailers yesterday expressed optimism that shoppers would pick up the pace this week with Christmas just days away, several telling Tribune Business they were expecting to see a rush of last minute customers.

From the the perspective of a food wholesale/retail operator, business was “relatively slow.” Phil Lightbourne, owner of the Gladstone Road-based Phil’s Food Services, said: “From Thursday to Christmas Eve we should see some sales, but it’s relatively slow right now.

“Around this time things are usually booming. This week is the last weekend, and then there’s government payday, but overall it’s slow for the month of December. Most Bahamians wait for the last minute. A lot of people don’t want to purchase, fill their freezers with ham and turkey so early. Everything should happen this week. If this week is dead then it will just be a dead month.”

Charmaine Daley, sales manager at John’s Shoes and Accessories, Carmichael Road, said: “The customer response as far as shopping was pretty good, especially on Saturday past, but we are anticipating more traffic here this week.

“Some persons do wait until the last minute to do their shopping, then there’s government pay day and some people may be getting bonuses as well.”

John Cathopoulis operations manager at John’s, said that its online offering has generated significant business as well.

“It’s done fine, it’s picked up from what things were looking like before the season started. It’s an experience for both customer and store owner. The online business has really picked up from the Out Islands. It’s creating a great exposure for the store. The traffic to the site has been tremendous,” said Mr Cathopoulis.

Peter Philips, managing director of the Brass and Leather Shops, distributor of Fendi in the Bahamas, said that while business was nowhere near the levels seen three-four years ago, it was “moving along”.

“Business is moving along right now. It’s just dependent on the last few days leading into Christmas,” said Mr Philips.

Steve Hoffer, chief executive of Hoffer Sport, one of the largest sporting goods outfits in the country, told Tribune Business: “We are hoping things pick up.We just expanded our Cable Beach store, and we are hopeful that that leads to increased business.

“Downtown is not what it used to be. We have had our busy days. We are expecting to see the same amount of business we saw last year, though we would like to see an increase.”