The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian shoe retailer yesterday warned the government's lockdown is creating "unfairness and inequity" in the sector by enabling "essential" firms to sell the same products closed rivals cannot.

Egan Kemp, president of Eunison Company, the Shoe Depot parent, told Tribune Business that multi-product retailers deemed to be "essential services" will have a "huge competitive advantage" over specialist distributors such as himself when the economy re-opens because they have continued operating while he has been "bleeding cash" through being closed.

Arguing that the government's COVID-19 shutdown was creating an "unlevel playing field" between those retailers that were still open and those that are not, Mr Kemp said the likes of Super Value and Solomon's Super Centre were besides food also able to sell footwear, clothing, electronic appliances and a range of goods offered by other merchants who have been forced to shutter for over a month.

Disclosing that the situation was sparking outrage among other retailers in a similar predicament to Shoe Depot, he told this newspaper: "This is a huge issue for businesses out there that cannot operate. Huge. Super Value sells slippers and shoes, but I can't."

Asked whether this will give "essential" retailers a competitive advantage once the Bahamian economy is re-opened in the pandemic's wake, Mr Kemp replied: "The problem is how many small businesses will fail in this process. There's a lot of those out there that are not going to be able to weather the financial storm associated with this.

"They're going to have a huge advantage going into an economy opening situation because the rest of us have been bleeding cash while they're swimming in cash. It's certainly unfair. I know the government is reacting to something they've not seen before, but now the dust has settled a bit they will know what are essential items and non-essential items.

"I'm fuming mad. I think the government has to be a bit more responsible about how they're letting this happen. It's about all of us - Mom and Pop stores, family-owned. How can these stores sell the same products we do while we cannot operate?"

Mr Kemp said the impact would be "absolutely catastrophic", and added: "Every day that goes by it becomes compounded. We have already experienced significant negative effects in several areas. Obviously, zero sales means zero money incoming. Yet, there are the weekly expenses that continue to build in the background. We have to contend with those expenses, and that quickly depletes our available cash."

Disclosing that he had raised his concerns with the government yesterday, the Shoe Depot chief continued: "I am pounding the sand in multiple areas to bring more awareness to this issue, because I am not sure how much longer our society will hold it's cool under such unfair conditions.

"Each day that passes people will have more and more time to ponder on these things, and they will begin to see the unfairness every time they go out to shop and see items they may sell in their own business and ask: 'Why?'"

Mr Kemp said the long-term impact on his business, which has been operating in The Bahamas for 36 years, was presently unknown, but added: "I do know that to allow one person/business to profit while at the same time closing others that sell the same type of merchandise is not equitable and in the spirit of a free society.

"In every country this is a major unlevel playing field, and even worse in countries where multinational corporations have a presence as they are getting all the benefits in multiple ways. More buying power, in-house legal teams, public stock funding, more lucrative lease deals, tax breaks from local and state governments, first in line at the government bailout packages (to big to fail) and most recently, the biggest and most immediate beneficiary of all the 'free' government stimulus monies going directly to citizens in the US being spent in the only stores open - big multinational corporations.

"If Wal-Mart can operate with customers why can't the 'mom and pop' store? Nothing wrong with competition but it must be fair and equitable to all. In the future I will make sure we sell bread, milk and eggs so we are essential also."