JEDDAH, 27 January 2005 — With Haj 2005 coming to a close, pilgrims are streaming into Jeddah to do some shopping and discover the Bride of the Red Sea.

Businesses in downtown Balad have reported a sharp rise in their sales — up 60 percent from last year.

“This Haj season has done us a lot of good. We are happy. Last year, business certainly was not booming,”

said one businessman at the plush Mahmal Center in Balad. “There were no customers, and even when there were, they had no money to buy the stuff from the local markets.”

The majority of customers this time around appear to be from Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, India and South Africa.

“The Nigerians are into buying brand names... Whether they be wristwatches, such as Omegas and Rolexes; sunglasses, including Ray Bans and Police; or perfumes, like Christian Dior or Yves Saint Laurent,” said another businessman. “The Indonesians are into electronic goods — TV sets, fridges, cell phones and digital cameras. The Indians are buying a lot of gold jewelry, and the Pakistanis are into buying expensive, designer clothing.”

According to these businessmen, the Nigerians are big spenders, but that may be because they have great confidence in Jeddah merchants.

As Arab News was interviewing a businessman, a Nigerian pilgrim walked into a wristwatch center and purchased three expensive, designer brand watches.

Without batting an eye, he paid SR25,000 for them.

When asked why he was in such a hurry as to not comparison shop with other area merchants, he said: “I have to catch a flight for Lagos in another four hours. I have no time. Besides, I am sure of the quality of the products here in Jeddah — they don’t sell fakes.”

The pilgrim said the watches were a good buy.

“The prices here are darn cheap,” he said. “The same thing that I bought here for SR25,000 would have cost me around SR35,000 back home, and even then, I wouldn’t be certain about its authenticity.”

For the Indonesians, it the availability that makes this market attractive.

“The kind of models that are available here are amazing. You have the latest from Samsung, Sony and Nokia,” said a pilgrim from Indonesia. “The video cameras that are available here now probably will hit the market in Indonesia after a year or so. Because the turnover in Jeddah is high, you get the latest and the best here. We also find the prices very competitive.”

It was easy to find smiling merchants.

“We are estimating 70 percent more business compared to last year,” said Hussain Mubarak of Al-Husseini Watches at Mahmal Center who’s been in the business for the last decade. “Last year, we had lot of customers from Egypt and Morocco. This time, the Indonesians and the Nigerians are making us happy.”

The sweet smell of success was everywhere.

“This year is the best year in the last decade business-wise,” said Shabaaz Ahmad of Alabdullatif for Perfume and & Cosmetics. “There are a lot of takers for expensive perfumes. This was not the case last year.”

Business was so bright, you needed sunglasses.

“Ray Ban and Police are in huge demand,” said Muhammad Saleh at the Al-Naghi Center for Sunglasses. “Nigerians and Pakistanis form the bulk of our customer base. I have no complaints.”