The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A downtown Nassau retailer is expanding its operations to the Carmichael Road area, telling Tribune Business that Bay Street trading remains “very challenged”.

The Brass & Leather Shops opened its newest location in the John’s Plaza last Thursday, with its managing director Peter Philips, telling this newspaper that fast-developing Carmichael offers more business opportunities closer to its market.

“We’re not getting the tourists downtown, and for the local market it’s just too much hassle. There are very few parking spots, and people are only going to come downtown if they have a place to park. If you look at where the market is, it is at Carmichael Road, it’s at the Mall at Marathon, it’s at Harbour Bay,” said Mr Philips.

He added: “I think you always have to pay attention to the local market. The local market is important for our business. We have to be asking where the market is and pay attention to it.

“This store allows us to be closer to the market. I think it is an important area. We cannot rely on the market coming downtown. Of course, we do have the Mall store, which is good, but you cannot rely on the market coming downtown.”

Mr Philips said that the new store would employ between five to six persons. He expressed optimism, though, that business in downtown Nassau would improve over time as the retailer maintains its outlet on Charlotte Street.

“Downtown is going to improve,” Mr Philips said. “It may only improve for the tourist market, because I think it’s always going to be very challenging for Bahamians to find parking spaces downtown.

“I think Brass & Leather is hopeful that we are going to see a slow and steady increase in the quality of the product downtown, and that might be a first step in terms of getting people from, say Atlantis, downtown and eventually from Baha Mar.

“That’s the challenge; to get people outside the resorts, and the only way we’re ever going to do that is to have a good product downtown. That’s going to be a very slow process and it involves the redoing of the old container port area, but once that gets underway you will see a few more restaurants, bars and stores, and it will become harder for Atlantis to keep their guests on Paradise Island.”