Too many sellers for a small economy

Dec 07, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Has anyone ever wondered why there are no “Sale” campaigns in Guyana? In the past, at various times of the year, the major department stores would call a ‘sale’ in which the prices of most items would be slashed.
Consumers would go down to these “sales” in their droves and devour the items on sale which went like hot cakes on a cold day. Those days are gone, long gone. But has anyone ever wondered why?
The departmental stores are no longer around. Guyana Stores and Fogarty’s can no longer be considered as department stores even though they do offer a wide range of items.
They simply do not have the customer base as before and are most likely running at losses and facing stiff competition for other businesses. As such they cannot launch a ‘sale’ anymore.
There are thousands of small businesses that have sprung up in the country. They have sprung up all over. There is no longer any regard for zoning. People somehow are able to set up shop wherever they feel.
And because they have this liberty, they are setting up shop in every conceivable place. Everybody is selling something. At times you have to wonder if there are more boutiques than people in this country.
Everywhere you turn somebody is selling clothes. How often do people buy clothes in this country?
This country’s small population, most of whom are poor, cannot support the number of cake shops there are much less the larger number of stores selling clothes.
On top of this, a number of stores owned by foreign nationals have been established and they have taken away markets from locally-owned businesses. The economy cannot sustain all of these businesses. The commercial sector is suffering also because there is a problem in the economy.
The commercial sector however was bound to implode because there are too many sellers for such a small economy. Nobody can afford a clearance sale anymore because business is already slow because of the number of sellers.
Christmas is not going to bring any revival. Christmas is going to bring out a lot of goods from the storerooms of businesses. There will be a lot of goods but not many buyers because everybody is selling something. People at workplaces are getting barrels and these persons are selling the contents to their fellow workers. The sales for the stores are being reduced as a result.
What Guyana needs are some mass employers. The former government had some plans in this regard and they are worth looking at again.
We know there was a lot of corruption under the PPP but you cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater. The PPP had some good plans; the problem is that these plans were being promoted by the wrong people.
Those plans to set up factories and to set up call centers should be looked at again. People have to start producing again. Food is too expensive. Building material costs are too high. The economy is growing or was growing but yet the cost of living is increasing.
A great many small businesses are doing no businesses. The owners are just keeping them going to protect the fixed assets. These stores are accumulating debt and they are not meeting their recurrent expenditure. For all intents and purposes they are broke and will collapse.
This was always going to happen. It just so happened that these problems are multiplying under the new government because there is no plan to stimulate demand in the economy.

Latest News

Too many sellers for a small economy

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

St. Lucia’s Elite Blazers takes aim at FIBA 3×3 World Tour in...

Petra/Milo U18 Football kicks off Round II action...

Track and Field clubs demand nullification of AAG...

Joint Statement from WIPA and CWI on Athlete...

RCNA launches Childhood Obesity Prevention...

FL Sport donates stumps to Meten-Meer-Zorg...

Features/Columnists

Following one’s conscience rather than the crowd

If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?

New beginning, or beginning of a nightmare?

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Too many sellers for a small economy

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 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 […]