The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN retailers yesterday reported "an extremely busy Christmas", with one telling Tribune Business: "It was much much better than I expected".

Charmaine Daley, manager at John's Shoes and Accessories on Carmichael Road, said: "As expected we were extremely busy straight though Saturday. We had traffic from the time we opened to closing time.

"We also saw a good bit of traffic on Sunday as well. People haven't stopped shopping as they are still coming in. This was an excellent Christmas. We maintained our quota straight through."

Super Value's owner, Rupert Roberts, told Tribune Business: "We had a very good Christmas and, from my observation, the whole country had a very good Christmas. I mean it was much, much better than I expected. It appears that people now realise that we have a new government, the recession is over in the US and they are spending the money they have because they're confident they can make more."

Mr Roberts said grocery retailers traditionally see a spike in sales the week before Christmas and the week after, meaning that the two weeks are usually judged together to get a true reflection of overall performance.

One luxury goods retailer told Tribune Business: "Sales this Christmas period were fairly strong. I think we may have surpassed last year's sales, but I haven't really looked at the numbers yet. Nonetheless I think sales were pretty good."

Another retailer told Tribune Business: "I'd say things went pretty well; sales were quite robust. We saw a lot of traffic, especially on the weekend, so I think this was a good Christmas."