Designer sunglasses and Yves Saint Laurent cologne

Dec 06, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

I read in the newspaper that a businessman bought a property in a high priced area (downtown Georgetown) and has established a retail trade in designer sunglasses. This announcement really caught my eyes. Most of us who live in Guyana are amateur economists.
You are forced into some familiarity with the function of economic factors because of the nature of the relations of production in Guyana. When you read that there is a business place selling sunglasses as their main line of offering, then your elementary knowledge of the Guyanese economy goes into overdrive.
Let me say upfront that I wish the investor well. This is a bold and daring man. But the same apprehension came over me when I read that Guyana was to have a fourth daily newspaper.
The economy will not allow for the profitable existence of a fourth daily. This country’s class structure reveals a large proletarian class, a sizeable unemployed stratum and a white collar category, all far weaker than their counterparts in the rest of Caricom.
To buy four daily newspapers comes up to $2,900 weekly. I would argue with any brilliant economist that the average working class person and the average middle class earner do not spend that kind of money on newspapers. Two of those papers do not achieve patronage that makes for meaningful profit. Those two media outfits are the Chronicle and the Guyana Times.
I wrote that if the Guyana Times were to break into the market, it had to kill either the Kaieteur News or the Stabroek News. It looks like it killed itself. I would like to see a statistical prediction on how a store exclusively dealing in designer sunglasses can see a return when you think of the other competitors, the poor economy, a weak proletariat and a struggling white collar class.
After electricity cost, other overheads and salaries, what are you going to be left with to repay your bank loans and make a profit?
This sounds impossible to me but as I wrote above I do wish the goodly gentleman well. This is a country where all kinds of funny and interesting things happen. I knew a business that retailed only designer cologne and perfume.
It did not last long. One of the wrong things about our entrepreneurs is the lack of interest they show in market surveys and economic analysis. Did this particular investor undertake a market survey?
Whenever I hear about designer labels, I get worried. And I am wondering if all retailers in downtown Georgetown should not be worried too. This is a world where fake brand names are ubiquitous. This is happening all over the world. Fake Gucci handbags almost ruined that company.
How can you tell the real stuff from the Chinese imitation? The owner of a well known electrical store showed me an amazing thing. He put on the counter top, two switches. Both were inscribed with the words, “Made in the USA.” One was not genuine.
The world of designer labels gave me a rude awakening three years ago. A friend bought a Hewlett Packard (HP) camera for us from Miami. The on/off button got damaged, so my wife’s cousin took it with her to New York for the HP people to supply the part. The model number was not in HP’s catalogue. They told my wife’s cousin that it was not an HP camera.
A former Kaieteur News journalist, who has since migrated, told me that he stepped on a horror story. A well-patronized store in Guyana was putting fake designer tags on their clothes.
We went to the particular person who was inflexible in his refusal to go further.e He He was terrified that if we run the story, it could have been traced back to him.
The Americans are having a nightmare with bogus Chinese products that bear the name of American companies. This is such a universal scandal that by now most consumers are aware of what the Chinese are doing. This practice has virtually ruined the world of designer names.
The products range from a simple Parker pen to an expensive Rolex watch. How do you know if you are getting the genuine stuff? In Europe and the US, to get the quality stuff you are after, you have to patronize only a select set of stores. These establishments have specific suppliers with which they have established an enduring relationship.
These stores are extremely elitist and expensive. So be careful if you see a bottle of Yves Saint Laurent cologne on the shelves of your average store. It may not carry the touch of the great Frenchman.

Latest News

Designer sunglasses and Yves Saint Laurent cologne

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 4th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

‘One Guyana’ 3×3 Quest tips off today

Twin tons from Anderson, Imlach steer Eagles back...

Race for quarterfinal spots commence today at MoE...

Marsh sets up Lucknow’s comfortable win...

Saints and GTI dominate as YBG Georgetown...

Carty misses ton, Hamilton (80) sets up tense...

Features/Columnists

The One-Man Republic

The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation

Polls – what they say, where I stand

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Designer sunglasses and Yves Saint Laurent cologne

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 4th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]