Helium balloons float high profits

Eid Al-Fitr is turning out to be a profitable business opportunity for some expatriates who used the festive time to make additional earnings selling helium-filled air balloons and animated toys at malls and public parks.
Operating their small business ventures on the go, these balloon sellers from Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh stand to make over SR400 to SR500 per day selling an average of 10 balloons per hour during the three-day Eid celebrations.
“Most of us have morning jobs. In evenings, we utilize the hours to work some extra benefits. Eid is good time for such odd jobs,” said Sukumar, a Srilankan, who had already earned over SR300 by the evening selling animated balloons at Al-Qasr Mall in Riyadh during Eid celebrations.
Kumar, 47, works in a maintenance department of a government organization and earns around SR1,200 a month.
“The cost of living is rising day by day in my home country. To support a family of six, including my elderly mother and three children back home is difficult. At times, I am desperate to provide for food, medical necessities and education for our children. My salary is insufficient to meet the usual living expenses including my food, insurance, iqama and other formalities,” said Kumar.
Anil, another seller from Bangladesh, said, “I used to work at grocery shop part time delivering food stuffs to customer’s houses. It was a rather tiring job for a small salary. This job pays us as overtime and at times has even helped us double our salary.”
Anil also said “This part time job has helped me settle a big loan that I had borrowed from a friend during my wife’s surgery a year ago. It has helped me come out of the financial crisis I had been in for a long time.”
The business is fruitful, especially during Eid when the children and their parents are in a festive mood.
“It is amazing how a simple balloon can set spirits soaring. I often buy my daughters these balloons and feel happy seeing their faces gleam,” said Hanneen Al-Mahmoud, a visitor at the mall in Riyadh.
The durable synthetic balloons come in varying shapes and sizes themed to popular cartoon characters in the likes of SpongeBob, Dora, Barbie, Arabian horses, cars, zebras, deer, princesses, Smurfs, dolphins and all trending animations that catch the fancy of the iPod and tablet-crazed kids.
To meet the huge market demand the sellers began their preparations well in advance.
“We buy our basic stocks from dealers at whole sale price, hire helium gas pumps and pay the transport. If we can sell at least 10 balloons daily, we have covered our cost. Anything balloon sold after that is a bonus,” said Abdul Rahman from Bangladesh.
“Earlier we were calculative of putting our savings as an initial investment but realizing the profitability of the field we belt out a calculated investment that reaps us better returns. We have worked harder in Ramadan and are trying to be more productive this Eid.
“I love this job because it feels good to see children happy and smiling when they hold the soaring balloons with a swelling heart. Moreover, the good returns have motivated us to work the extra hours after the tiring regular jobs,” said Abdul Rahman.