Mixed bag for Kingston vendors as Melissa squeezes Christmas shoppers

While several business owners across the Corporate Area have expressed dissatisfaction with their Christmas sales, one downtown Kingston entrepreneur is revelling in the increased profits from the holiday season.

The manager of Rockland Furniture store on Orange Street, who gave his name only as Dheeraj, said the impact of Hurricane Melissa has resulted in sales doubling this Christmas season, compared with last year.

“Because Melissa come, it mash up dem tings, so customers come and buy new furniture, new mattresses and all those things,” he told The Gleaner on Monday.

He, however, was unable to provide exact figures.

Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on October 28, impacting about 360,000 people. About 90,000 households were directly impacted by the storm, and it damaged nearly 156,000 homes, 24,000 of which were total losses.

Replacing lost items

Yesterday, as customers milled about his packed store, making inquiries about furniture items, Dheeraj, noted that some have travelled from the most damaged areas in Jamaica to seek replacement for the things they have lost.

“Last year this time, we were going to India for holidays, but we are not going [this year] because of too much rush,” he said.

Nearby, clothing vendor Maureen Daley said she adjusted her pricing strategy to suit consumers’ limited spending power. A vendor for over 20 years, Daley said she focused on selling lower-priced items to keep sales moving.

“Yuh haffi start from $500. Yuh cya do nothing too dear,” she told The Gleaner. “It may slow sometime, but it different. Yuh sell $500, $1000 – yuh mix yuh ting dem, suh something haffi sell.”

Despite slower business overall, Daley said she earned enough to support her family and enjoy the holiday.

“It work out fi mi. Mi give thanks fi weh mi sell and can afford fi my kids dem. Mi nah guh spit inna Fada God face. Mi may nuh get a million, mi may nuh get a hundred thousand, but at the end of the day mi cudda buy something fi mi yute dem and mi cudda eat, suh mi give thanks fi dat,” the single mother of five said.

Another vendor, who declined to be named, blamed reduced seasonal events for poor sales. He argued that fewer social activities meant less incentive for people to shop for new clothes, leading to a sharp decline in spending.

“Memba a event mek people shop, y’know. Wi haffi a go out, di kids dem haffi a go out (and) we now, as the parents, we nah go wear di long-time clothes dem ... . So when we hear seh nothing nah keep, weh it mek sense wi a go spend wi money? Suh sales must cut,” he argued.

Produce vendor Sandra Wint also experienced a slow season. She said the usual Christmas Day rush on Red Hills Road did not materialise this year.

“This Christmas slower than ever,” she said. “Mi nuh know if a tru Melissa, or people kinda economise and go to the [Coronation] Market,” she said.

A vendor for more than 20 years, she added that higher prices and lower-quality produce made business more difficult. Scarcity forced her to sell a single Scotch bonnet pepper for $150.

At Shoppers Delite supermarket on Chancery Street, sales started slowly but improved closer to Christmas. Assistant General Manager Rachael Gayle attributed the early slowdown to the hurricane’s effects on household finances.

Earnings eventually picked up, she noted, adding that the supermarket has been at the location since 2015 and serves the residents of Meadowbrook, Chancery Hall, Red Hills, and other surrounding areas.

“On Christmas Eve, it (sales) was up to our expectations,” she said. “It was evident that everybody was just trying to make the best out of what they could.”

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com