RIYADH, 1 April 2007 — From kitchenware to bathroom accessories, and from cosmetics to men’s underwear, SR2 stores —- which ironically have shop attendants standing tirelessly outside repeating “riyalain, riyalain” to attract passersby — are dotted across the Kingdom and becoming extremely popular and busy.
“Get a Lot and Pay Little” is a widespread SR2 shop slogan to attract buyers. For low-income Saudis and expatriates that are living on tight financial budgets, SR2 stores are fantastic places to buy cut-price basic household items, kitchenware, detergents, stationery, accessories, gifts, cosmetics, makeup, electrical items, underwear, toys and countless dire necessities.
The stores are set up in a way to stimulate people’s shopping cravings and motivate them to buy endlessly. Families trudging along with shopping trolleys full to the brim are common sights found in such stores.
Yemeni expatriate Ahmed Abdu, who works at an SR2 store in downtown Riyadh, said the store he works at is always busy.
“We don’t have a particular selling season. People buy heavily throughout the year. At the beginning of the school season, customers tend to buy school-related items.
“Close to Ramadan, people tend to buy kitchen items. When it’s wedding season, people tend to buy gifts and decorations. Detergents, tissues and makeup are year-round popular items. We shift a lot of stock throughout the year,” said Abdu.
However, not all people view the popularity of SR2 stores favorably. Fahed Al-Maleky believes SR2 stores sell items that they are not licensed to sell.
“These stores are licensed to sell miscellaneous small items. You end up finding kitchenware, electrical items, male and female accessories, and tools. In effect these stores end up illegally competing with other licensed specialized stores. This is unfair,” he said.
Al-Maleky said he is not against the stores per se but believes they should stick to only selling what they are licensed to sell. “They need to avoid selling things that are unsafe. These include electrical wires, plugs and their likes. Some of the cosmetics, creams and shampoos sold are also dubious in terms of health and safety regulations. The authorities need to keep this in mind,” he added.
Abu Majid, a Saudi living in Riyadh, believes many SR2 stores sell counterfeit items. “A lot of the goods sold have trademarks of well-known companies and are imitation items. The quality isn’t so good as well. The authorities need to protect consumers and prevent such fraudulent items from entering the market. This is bad news,” said Abu Majid.
Many local people in Riyadh agree with Al-Maleky and say SR2 stores sell items that are harmful to health.
“The problem is that many people are unaware of the harmful substances sold in these stores. We read a lot about these substances in newspapers. However, there are many people who don’t know about them and think everything sold in these shops are authentic. People need to be careful,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Qahtani.
Abu Khalid, another Riyadh resident, said the problem is to do with loyalty and how much storeowners care about the welfare of their customers.
“Some are just bothered about making profit rather than people’s welfare. In turn, the authorities seemingly only care aboutstoreowners rather than members of the general public. I’m afraid such stores are only wastebaskets for the sale of counterfeit goods and items that do not meet the requirements of health and safety regulations,” said Abu Khalid.
However, some customers do not flinch at the prospect of potentially buying counterfeit goods at SR2 stores. Um Aseer is one such person. “I used to buy SR500 worth of detergents from large supermarkets. Now I’m saving 50 percent on my shopping bill by buying from SR2 stores. I’m not too fussed if the item isn’t original. As long as they clean well, I’m not too bothered,” said Um Aseer.
Um Muhammad said she is careful when shopping at SR2 stores.
“I know these shops sell counterfeit goods. It’s something known to most people. It’s basically up to the customer to decide whether he or she wants to buy the item. Only the customer can decide whether he or she wants to use the item and bear the consequences,” said Um Muhammad.
She added, “I never buy cosmetics because I know they are harmful to my skin. I also think such stores shouldn’t sell underwear. The material is totally unsuitable and children’s skin is so sensitive. The items may be cheap but it is expensive to treat the effects of harmful goods. People need to be careful.”
Nevertheless, in spite of the negative aspects of shopping at SR2 stores, many people are more than happy shopping there. “SR2 stores have revealed that a lot of stores inflate their prices. The same items are sold in other shops are three times over-priced. This is especially the case with stationery,” said Muhammad Naser.
Mansour, a SR2 shop owner, was courageous enough to respond to the concerns of members of the public. “We sell items according to the demands of customers and that are affordable. We exert a lot of effort in getting cheap items that are limited in number and only found at specialized places in Jeddah and Dubai,” said Mansour. He added, “We work on a trivial profit margin. Items that cost us SR1.25 are sold for SR2. This is done to satisfy customer needs. We know very well that some items are counterfeit. Sometimes it says they are made in Germany or Japan, but the truth is that they are usually made in China or Taiwan. The customer also knows this very well. That’s the reason why the items are so cheap. If customers ask, then we tell them that the item isn’t original. We are successful at satisfying customers’ needs and people love shopping with us.”
