SPALDINGS, Clarendon:

Business operators in the bustling commercial town of Spaldings, Clarendon, are reporting that there was a significant downturn in business this Christmas season when compared to last year.

Checks by The Gleaner at a number of business establishments in that fast-developing town revealed that, when compared to last year, businesses experienced reductions in sales of between 18 and 60 per cent during the period.

Businessman Dudley Powell, who operates the Four Seasons Sports and Variety Shop, said his store saw a whopping 60 per cent decline in sales when compared to the business he did this time last year.

"I said last Christmas was a bad one, but when I compared this year, last year was much better," Powell said, noting that reduced sales could be attributed to the diminished spending power of consumers.

"What I saw this year were children spending small amounts of money on things such as fire crackers (from vendors); and some spending more on food items in fast-food stores. The fast-food stores did well this year in Spaldings," he said.

The Christmas season was also very slow for businessman Valenton Wint, who operates a Cambio business.

"From where I stand, our remittance inflows were less than last year. I received less foreign exchange this Christmas when compared to last year's. The Jamaican dollar that I spent this Grand Market was less than last year, even though the dollar devalued by a significant amount," Wint said.

30 per cent reduction

Though admitting that what takes place in his business is linked to what happens globally, the Spaldings businessman said he experienced a 30 per cent reduction in business this Christmas Eve when compared with what took place last year.

He reported that there was not much in the town as far as traffic and crowds were concerned, because many persons opted to stay home.

Businessman Paul Lyn said shops in Paul Lyn's Plaza, in the centre of Spaldings, saw a significant reduction in sales this Christmas Eve. Lyn went on to say that Christmas Eve this year was the worst he had seen in 40 years.

"There has been a 50 per cent reduction in business this year when I compare it with what took place here last Christmas. People never did any extra shopping this year but were only doing regular shopping," said Lyn.

He noted that the closure of the Windalco Plant at Kirkvine, which employed scores of persons from Spaldings, could be counted as part of the reason for a downturn in sales in the town.

Low sales

Lyn added that the non-operation of the municipal market in the town centre could also have attributed to the low sales.

"Spaldings is a farming community and there is no market here; so those persons who would normally sell in the market went elsewhere to do business," he said. "For example, there was no butchering of cows in Spaldings this year; and vendors who would want to do their selling here could not do so because there is no market."

Ricky Azan, who operates Azan's Essentials, said sales were also down for his business.

However, according to him, it was not as bad as he thought it would have been as there was a significant amount of activity in his store on Christmas Eve.

Azan suggested that the crowd in his business establishment on Christmas Eve came about because shoppers were forced to stay home for much of last week due to the heavy rains in the area; and so persons came out on the last day of shopping instead.

He said despite the volumeof activity on the last day of Christmas shopping, he experienced a reduction in sales of between 18 to 20 per cent.