Bassam Husain, a marketing manager at a women’s clothes shop on Al-Tahlia Street, said his store took sales of SR350,000 over the past week. “In a normal trading week, the shop takes in SR80,000, but the holiday has helped push sales up,” he said.
He added that shopping malls have seen higher sales during the break. “Families prefer visiting malls rather than stand-alone shops because of the children’s play areas and food courts. Tahlia Street is, however, special. We have loyal customers who visit us from across the Kingdom,” he added.
Ibrahim Al-Suhaili, a salesman at a watch shop in a shopping mall in Jeddah, said sales at his store were 60 percent up compared to the week before. Al-Suhaili, who was busy along with his colleagues tidying up, said they had to employ an extra salesperson to meet demand.
“Visitors from Riyadh tend to buy more compared to others. We have had people from Eastern Province, Makkah, Madinah and Taif,” he said. Malls have also been hosting events for children. Mashail Mohammad, a Saudi woman, was packing her stuff. She had set up a stall at a 10-day bazaar set in a Jeddah mall. “I’ve benefited a lot even though I had to pay SR2,500 to the organizers,” she said.
Mashail sells cosmetics, women’s accessories and clothes. “I’ve got lots of different types of customers from across the Kingdom. Some go for special handmade products that my sisters make while others prefer less expensive products,” she said.
Open markets in Jeddah have also generated huge profits during the break. According to a salesman at an abaya store, profits have increased. “Our profit doubled last week,” said Abdullah, a stallholder in Jeddah’s Al-Bawadi Souq. “Most of the sales were done during the evenings,” he added. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities said in its 2009 report that 936,000 visitors and 327,600 tourists came to Jeddah in the 2009 spring break. Visitors came from 39 cities, villages and towns, with visitors from Riyadh topping the list followed by people from Makkah.
