Traders Complain Of Low Christmas Sales

Traders at the Dome market in the Ga East District of the Greater Accra Region are hopeful that from today business activities will pick up to usher in the festive season.

Last Saturday when the Daily Graphic visited the market, although one could witness brisk activities, the traders complained that business was not good.

According to them, most people were buying the usual foodstuff that they buy on weekends as such, they were not feeling any difference in the sales that they were making.

Aunty Yaa, who has been selling cassava and plantain at the market for the past 15 years, said she was expecting people “to buy more for the holidays as Christmas falls on Tuesday.”

However, she said: “When they come they still buy the GH₵10 and GH₵5 as they usually do every Saturday, so I’m hopeful they will come again on Monday and Tuesday”.

Traders hopeful

Ms Eugenia Menka, who sells local spices in the market, said business was not bad but was expecting it to pick up.

According to her, in previous years, people used to buy different types of spices to the tune of about GH₵20 or more to go and blend them at the local blending shops within the market but now most of the people who were buying the spices were buying in smaller quantities to blend at home.

She was hopeful that as the season approached business would pick up so that she could make a lot more sales.

What the Daily Graphic observed at the market was that a lot of traders who hitherto did not sell in the market were seen roaming about with their wares ranging from fowls to Christmas toys with the hope of cashing in on the festive season.

Mr Emmanuel Atta, who sells broiler fowls, said as at 1p.m. on Saturday, he had sold 15 out of the 32 that he brought to the market.

He said sales were good but was still hopeful that between today and Tuesday, he would be able to sell more fowls.

Slow sales

In a related development, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports that many traders in the clothing and shoe business in the New Juaben South municipality were complaining of poor sales.

The traders said though some of the prices of clothes and shoes had been maintained and in some cases decreased to attract more buyers, there had still not been any improvement in the sales.

These were revealed by the traders in the New Juaben South municipality in a survey conducted by the GNA in the municipality.

The Manager of Erico Palace, Mr Kelvin Ayensu, dealers in shoes for men, as well as cloths for women and men, said people now tend to invest their money in profitable ventures rather than making petty expenditure.

He said in order to attract customers his company had maintained prices and increased advertisements on the radio but all to no avail.

Madam Abigail Ayeram, a trader of cosmetics, purses and cloths, blamed the poor sales to the increment in fuel prices and explained that any increment of fuel price triggered an increment of prices of goods.

Other traders, who spoke to the GNA, blamed the unstable cedi against other currencies.

They said one CFA, which was exchanged for GH¢8.20 last two weeks, was now being exchanged for GH¢8.80 and that had resulted in an increase in the prices of many Christmas goods imported from neighbouring countries.

Source: graphic