The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian businesses were yesterday urged to make their product offerings “as attractive as possible” by fully exploiting the post-Matthew exigency Order, thus “compelling” consumers to shop at home.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s chief executive, called on Bahamian merchants to urgently register with Customs and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) so they can offer post-storm ‘tax breaks’ to consumers.

By so doing, and passing these tax savings along, Mr Sumner said the private sector would be able to offer “competitive pricing” to Bahamians seeking to recover from Matthew’s devastation.

He added that the businesses themselves would also benefit from doing this, as it would ensure that storm relief monies remain circulating in the Bahamian economy rather than leaking out abroad.

With the upcoming Christmas holiday season set to encourage more foreign shopping trips, Mr Sumner said it was vital for Bahamian businesses to encourage ‘spending at home’ to maximise the post-Matthew recovery.

Pointing out that Bahamians spent $3 billion in south Florida annually, the Chamber chief executive said retaining just half that sum locally would provide a massive economic boost.

“What we don’t want to see happening is that if there’s some kind of windfall given to residents, we don’t want that money taken out and spent abroad,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business.

“Make your product offering as attractive as possible. If money is going to be circulating in our country, we’d rather see that money circulating in the economy than outside.

“We’d like to see Bahamians supporting the local businesses, so make your prices compelling enough to shop at home. It’s important merchants put inventory at very attractive prices so people shop at home.”

Mr Sumner added: “There has to be a quid pro quo on the business side, the consumer side, and the Government side.

“We believe the Government has made a goodwill gesture with the exigency Order. We also now want to encourage the business community to follow through, take advantage of the exigency to lower your prices.

“Eliminate your VAT charge and Customs duty charge to customers, and register with Customs and NEMA so that you recover your VAT charges when you file returns.

“We recommend that businesses take advantage of it, because if not you’re likely to have your inventory sitting on your shelves as people go abroad, especially as we’re coming to the holiday season.”

With the Christmas season now fast approaching in Matthew’s wake, Mr Sumner said the Bahamas had to take restarting its economy seriously.

“It also represents a very desperate time for people who might now have much disposable income to spend, and it will also be difficult because of losses Bahamians suffered because of the hurricane,” he told Tribune Business.

“While businesses are in business to make a profit, I believe many of them have a strong humanitarian and benevolent heart, so make your product offering as attractive as possible for people trying to get back to a state of normalcy.”

Acknowledging that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may have lacked catastrophe (property), inventory and business interruption insurance, Mr Sumner said the only way to get money flowing again was for “businesses to be in business”.

“Let’s make it attractive so that persons feel compelled to spend that money at home,” he reiterated.

The Chamber’s recent trip and meetings in south Florida, Mr Sumner confirmed, had shown that Bahamians spent some $3 billion annually in that state, representing “a good percentage of our GDP”.

“If we can turn half of that back into the local economy and spend that over the course of a year, businesses will get a major benefit and receive a true boost,” he added.

“Let’s create the opportunity and expectation at home, and let’s create not just the perspective but where it becomes a reality: Shopping at home at competitive prices so locals benefit from the money circulating.

“Let’s encourage as much shopping at home as we can in this period, and especially after such tragedy and harm for the country.”