The Tribune

• Top retailer to close 'until further notice' from 6pm

• Auto industry laments 'inconvenience' of curbs

• But 'necessary pill to swallow' to restart tourism

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Kelly's House & Home is closing "until further notice" from 6pm this evening rather than offer curb-side services that auto dealers predict will be up to 40 percent down on their normal in-store sales.

The Mall at Marathon-based retailer, one of The Bahamas' oldest and most prominent merchants, confirmed in a posting on its Facebook page yesterday afternoon that it will offer "no curb-side service" and will again close "until further notice".

Kelly's employed the same strategy when the Government initiated similar COVID-19 restrictions in early August, electing to close rather offer curb-side services. While Kelly's Lumber will provide curb-side service between 7am and 4.30pm on weekdays, the decision by its House & Home affiliate highlights just how difficult and costly it is for many Bahamian retailers to operate under these curbs.

One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while curb-side will allow non-food retailers to generate some revenues and cash flow amid the latest COVID-19 lockdown, the practice is a loss-maker that results in many merchants questioning whether it is worth remaining open.

"They don't want to be bothered by curb-side," they added of Kelly's House & Home. "That's a pain in the ass. You're staying open to please. You cannot make any money; you cannot. It slows down your transaction rate and slows down the number of customers coming in."

While some Kelly's customers reacted by asking when the retailer will develop an online presence, others in the private sector have confirmed that curb-side is not a substitute for ins-store sales. Brent Burrows, CBS Bahamas (Commonwealth Building Supplies) general manager, said in August that curb-side was equivalent to just 20 percent of normal sales and “not as easy” to pull-off as many think.

Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer's Confederation's (BCCEC) chairman, warned earlier this week that "retail businesses will be impacted as there are practical issues regarding limiting its commercial activity to curbside pick-up only without including appointments

"We also acknowledge that many of our members are not able to offer delivery and curbside pick-up due to the nature of the goods and services they offer," she added. And retail merchants are not the only ones affected by the return of curb-side restrictions as the Government bids to get COVID-19's spread under control on both New Providence and Grand Bahama.

Rick Lowe, Nassau Motor Company's (NMC) director/operations manager, predicted to Tribune Business yesterday that sales and business volumes will suffer "a 30-40 percent drop" as a result of the new measures sending the auto dealership back to curb-side across-the-board in its parts, service and sales department.

"It's certainly going to have a dampening effect on business," he said of the curb-side restrictions. "It's an inconvenience for our customers and everybody for sure, but I understand the reasoning behind it. It's a dampener on the economy; a huge dampener."

Pointing out that the constant cycle of lockdowns/opening up threaten to further undermine already-fragile business and consumer confidence, Mr Lowe added: "I've grown so frustrated with the whole process I've kind of given up in a way. People aren't up for all this inconvenience and up and down; you make arrangements and then something changes again. That creates much uncertainty.

"It is what it is. We're dealing with the consequences of people being irresponsible. We've got to try and figure our way through that minefield." Giving an insight into the difficulties curb-side poses for auto dealers, he added: "It's so inconvenient for people. It slows the process down so much, especially in parts.

"You have to check the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), the catalogue. You could have two different parts that fulfill the same purpose for different models depending on the year or make. It slows the process down so much more that you cannot get the flow."

Fred Albury, the Auto Mall's proprietor, told this newspaper that sales and business volumes will likely drop-off by between 20-25 percent as a result of switching from in-store to curb-side, but added that this was "better than nothing".

He argued that the latest COVID-19 restrictions were "a necessary pill" for New Providence, in particular, to swallow if it was ever to bring an infection rate running at between 50 to 100 new cases per day under control and permit the tourism industry to re-open.

"In my opinion, based on the number of cases out there and what is happening in the workplace, that's the safest way to be for the time being," Mr Albury told Tribune Business, "not having people in the showroom, service reception area and parts.

"It will have some impact, and we'd love to have people inside the showroom and building where it's more comfortable with the air conditioning, but it's a fair balance with keeping businesses open and going compared to a full board lockdown."

Mr Albury, saying he had anticipated the Prime Minister's announcement of a weekend lockdown, extended curfew and curb-side for retail, added that three members of the Auto Mall's staff had been sent home to quarantine for 14 days after their family members came down with COVID-19 even though they themselves had tested negative.

"The curve has to be flattened in order for us to open up on November 1 and catch any part of the winter tourism season. This has to be done now," Mr Albury said. "It's a necessary pill we've got to take otherwise the numbers will go up and up. As much as I hate to do curb-side, it's the better compromise compared to what we're up against out there.

"Look at Grand Bahama as an example. When they did a full lockdown for two weeks their numbers started coming down. What also needs to be done is the police or Competent Authority have to enforce the rules out there. I'm glad there's a number people can call and report gatherings to, but they really have to enforce the rules out there. There are people screaming, bitching and crying, but it's a necessary pill to swallow."

Voicing hope that the restrictions may last for just two to three weeks, especially with the November 1 date for tourism's re-opening remaining intact, Mr Albury added: "It's going to be a painful year this year. We've done everything we can to cut expenses, and have not laid anybody off or anything to that effect.

"Hopefully we'll get through this and next year will be another year, and we will get this behind us. We've done some things like suspending our pension plan, things of that nature. The rent we pay to our holding company that owns the real estate, we suspended that, too."