While many retailers in New Providence are enjoying the holiday boom, other businesses have been feeling the pinch.The spike in business during this time of year doesn't come as a surprise to The Sports Centre. The company's operations manager said the store is braced for the late rush.
"We double our staff for Christmas Eve and we are very prepared for the wave that happens every year," Catriona Eldon told Guardian Business." Bahamians have a habit of waiting until the last minute to shop, and with Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday we are ready for what awaits us then."
Eldon mentioned that it's encouraging to see that sales are up year-on-year to this point despite the economic challenges that residents are faced with they are still able to squeeze some shopping into their budgets. Additionally, she added that the affordable prices and wide variety of items make The Sports Center a "go-to" location for consumer needs.
"The Sports Centre is a great brand, but we have reasonable prices on other things outside of athletic[items]and we have three locations so it's more convenient for our customers to shop with us," Eldon said. "We have a great cross-section of items and have developed a great reputation among our customers."
The Sports Centre is no stranger to the Christmas wave of shoppers, but a relatively new player in the retail business has also seen some success out of the gate. Quality Home Centre, located on Carmichael Road, has been open for about a month and is already reaping the benefits of having an all-around store in a heavily populated area.
Trevor Davis, the owner, told Guardian Business that the initial success his company is experiencing is a great start to what he envisions to be a staple in that community.
"I'm happy that a lot of persons are staying in New Providence and not traveling to the U.S. to shop and I'm grateful that they are choosing to patronize Quality Home Centre," Davis said. "Sales have been good and the support from the community has been great, and this is certainly a huge step in the right direction."
With Davis' business being fresh on the scene, he said having the first Christmas wave of shoppers arrive at his establishment is a "great feeling". His focus is not outperforming the competition, saying that everybody can equally benefit from the scrambling shoppers.
"As far as competing, I feel that there is enough for everybody and all of the similar business can do well during this period,"he said."Us being geographically located on Carmichael Road makes it easier for customers to access a store that sells specific goods they are looking for, and we are focused on maintaining this level of success."
Some newer businesses are not as fortunate to have high traffic like Davis, or are even eager to discuss how sales are going. Guardian Business can confirm that a well-known store that expanded in the Carmichael Road area refused to comment on its holiday performance after several attempts.
While some establishments are having a difficult time getting consumers to walk through the door, Eldon is encouraging customers not to hesitate to enter the doors of The Sports Centre, saying that they are confident that they will meet the demand of its customers in the coming days.
"We have items that are arriving daily so customers shouldn't have to worry about not finding something that they are looking for,"she said.
"Our hot items like the Air Jordan shoes and the basketball systems will be available up until Christmas Day, so our customers won't be disappointed at all."
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