The goods are here, where are the buyers?

It is one week before Christmas and traders have stocked their shops hoping for bumper sales, but it seems that may be a pipe dream after all. OLUWATOYOSI OMISORE, FAUZIAT NASIR, FEYIKEMI OGUNLEYE and AYOMIDE EGBINOLA report.

When screams of Happy New Year resonated on January 1, 2016, little did many Nigerians know that the year was pregnant with economic woes, compared to the previous year. Job losses, unpaid salaries, entitlements and pensions, health challenges, high cost of food items, among other issues, have characterised the year like no other. Now, another Christmas is around the corner. As usual, traders have laid out their wares, expecting patronage, in season of severe recession!  Sunday Tribune felt the pulse of citizens on how the recession has affected the general state of preparation for the season.

‘Thieves, mounting debt, recession, foreign exchange affecting sale of foodstuffs’

Mrs Dasola Afeez, who sells rice and beans, noted that there is little money in circulation, and even with the little available, there is still the challenge of armed robbery.

“There is no money for us to run our businesses and the little amount that we are able to get through loans are stolen from us by armed robbers who ‘visit’ us at night in our various homes and this is due to the state of insecurity in the country. All we have now is the grace and mercy of Gods because we have a lot of debt to pay due to this recession.”

Mrs Kikelomo Aliu, who sells eggs, noted that as a result of the economic recession, she hardly sells one crate of eggs per day and this has really affected her cost of living.

Even for Mr Saheed Seriki, a butcher, “there is a marked difference between my sales this time round and the previous years, especially during the Christmas season. Normally, one would expect a boom in sales, but this year, the contrary is the case. I have been sitting here for the past two hours, but  no customer to patronise me, probably because the prices of everything have increased.”

Mrs Olaiya, who also sells foodstuffs and cooking ingredients, stated that: “I am really affected, because I have goods, but there is no one to buy them from me. Things are really hard and everybody is managing the little finacial resources available. ”

People have been buying clothes on credit –Boutique owner

Unlike 2015 when customers trooped in and out of her shop during the festive season, Mrs A. O. Alabi, owner of H&M Textiles, lamented low patronage.

According to her, “Although a few people have been coming to ask for items, there is a major difference between last year’s sales and this year’s. Some customers say they have to get food before anything; they say they can’t buy clothes and stay hungry because without food, the clothes would end up looking very bad on them. Food is the major thing people now buy. I still have hope that people would come to buy clothes before the end of December. My hopes are high, because people have been calling me to keep clothes for them till they will be able to get money to pay. I have decided to stop selling out goods on credit because of the current economic situation.”

For Mrs Wemimo of Wemmy B Kampala Concepts, people have not been patronising her.

“They would just come into the store, ask for the prices of the items and leave. Going by the mere fact that we are in the festive period, we expect people to come and buy things. Instead, things are happening otherwise. Everyone has been singing the word ‘recession. So, they just come to see what they like, ask for the price to know if they could afford it and if they cannot, they leave the store. Some agree to pay in installments though. I hope people would come and buy clothes, even if it is a week before Christmas or on Christmas day,” Wemimo stated.

For the owner of Isheoluwa Boutique Stores, who refused to give her full name, “people have been coming to buy clothes on credit. In many cases, there are no customers and I don’t think people are even thinking of buying clothes and those that even want to buy are not paying. There is no money in the country. But, hopefully, people will turn up before the end of December.”

In the opinion of Mrs Esther Ejiofor, who deals in imported children’s clothes, the state of the nation’s foreign exchange and economic recession have affected sales and also resulted in low turnout of customers. Unlike the previous year, she also said that there was an increase in the prices of children’s clothes as a blouse which sold last year for N1,000 now sold for N2,500.

We are tired of displaying Christmas decorations; nobody is interested in buying’

Mrs Funke Akinade, who sells Christmas decorations, noted that the few people who have decided to even ask for the cost of the decorations do not buy anything after asking for the prices. “We may not really blame them because things are expensive. The cost of buying six items before can only buy one item now. People are experiencing financial challenges. Some have blamed governments who have refused to pay workers and we have been praying for them.”

Mrs Ola Akeem, another trader who deals in Christmas decorations, stated that “business has been very dull because the country is in a bad state. Last year was better. In fact, this year, we can’t stock many goods because there is nobody who would buy such expensive goods in this recession. We are tired of not selling. We pray for God’s mercy every day.”

For drinks vendors, it’s a tale of woes…

Oluwakemi Adediran, who sells wine said that the current economic recession had affected this year’s sales, lamenting that sales were slow and customers not patronizing her unlike last Christmas.

“Last Christmas, I travelled twice a week to buy more goods because of the patronage I got from customers. However, this year, the prices of wines which have gone up is one major reason people are not buying.  For instance, wine which sold last time for N700 is now N1,400.”

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