The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas' two mobile rivals yesterday hailed "strong" and "excellent" Black Friday sales despite being down on last year due to COVID-19's devastating economic impact.

Damian Blackburn, Aliv's top executive, told Tribune Business: "It obviously was a challenge logistically with the social distancing, but the staff did a great job at the stores. Our sales were strong considering. We were happy with everything.

"We sold a lot of phones, wi-fi and tablets, and then had the Samsung Saturday to carry us. It was in line with expectations. It was not quite as strong as previous years, but it was very good considering. We expect a similar sales pattern for Christmas given all the offers we have coming out."

Mr Blackburn, who did not provide figures, said Aliv generated all its sales through its physical branches and did not use an online or virtual store for Black Friday. "We obviously had to let only so many people in at once, and things like that," he added. "The team did well considering those challenges and the customers were very patient.

"It was a good kick-in to Christmas. We expect, despite how tough it is, that Alive will still be a gift choice for Christmas. While we feel it will be a bit modest compared to previous years, we will be doing our part to make sure people enjoy Christmas a bit more."

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), meanwhile, described its first "Blue Friday" promotion - the initiative that is replacing Black Friday for this year - as "excellent" although it, too, did not reveal any sales figures.

Garfield 'Garry' Sinclair, BTC's chief executive, said in a statement: “BTC’s Blue Friday sales were excellent. We started our offers last Wednesday, and by early Friday morning, everything was sold out. For us, this was another opportunity to give back to our customers in a really big way.

"We were particularly proud of our $89 Samsung tablet offer which included an Always On mobile data combo plan. This allowed many customers to purchase quality tablets that they could regift to children in need. If you weren’t able to take advantage of the savings last week, it doesn’t end here, as Blue Fridays continue in December with big deals.

"Additionally, there are tons of special offers every day with our 'All I want for Christmas is' campaign, where customers get huge savings on mobile and residential products and services. We are encouraging customers to continue to use our virtual stores by sending a Whats App message to 424-SHOP or 577-SHOP for quick and easy service. “