JEDDAH: Families bombarded by mounting expenses from summer vacation, Ramadan and September’s Eid Al-Fitr with the simultaneous start of school have become so strapped for cash that many are deciding to skip international brands this year and have been heading to discount stores for the Eid Al-Adha holiday.
Many tourists and locals have already been packing stores in response to a number of ambitious sales campaigns meant for the cash-strapped consumer. Some discount stores such as Ya Balash have been offering 20 to 30 percent off on household items, toys and clothing.
“We have seen a lot of customers coming in to purchase largely decorations and household items for kitchen and cleaning duties. We have also been experiencing an increase in sales of toys and children’s clothing ahead of Eid. I think many people are vying to save money on entertaining guests and prefer to stretch their income to also include holiday entertainment for themselves,” Ramesh, a salesman at the Al-Safa branch of Ya Balash, told Arab News.
Markets such as Panda Supermarket, knowing that shoppers have to stock their pantries in preparation for family gatherings for Eid, have offered their own special promotion for Eid and its upcoming HyperPanda Celebration.
“In fact, we have noticed a significant increase in customer volume, who are stocking up on items for inviting guests and picnicking while trying to enjoy the holiday,” Rami Rajab, director of marketing for Panda Stores, told Arab News.
“Also if you consider the global financial crisis in line with consumer wallets, in Saudi Arabia we as a country weren’t hit as hard as other countries and I think that the local government has done a great job in helping people by offering an increase of government employee salaries with an additional five percent expected after this coming Muharram.”
Rajab said he realizes that bargains are important to their customers so much so that he has been demanding dramatic price reduction to the point that some of his staff have warned against pushing into profit margins.
“We are really digging deep into discounting items as much as possible this holiday and are able to do this due to our strict strategic alliances forged with domestic and international distributors,” he said.
