Ayanna Kirton, Gleaner Writer
ALTHOUGH MOST merchants reported slow sales in January due to the traditional after-Christmas lull, this year Valentine's Day did little to speed things up. Some business owners blamed the poor economy for the disappointing results and were less than inspired by weak Valentine's Day sales.
"People are hardly shopping," said a representative from Wright Style, a clothing store in St. Andrew. "Last year there were times when we made almost $200,000 in one day now we're lucky if we make $3,000," she said. Her sentiments were echoed by salespersons in a neighbouring store, Profiles, which specialises in women's clothing. "Valentine's Day is definitely not as popular this year as it used to be," said one salesperson, who confirmed that sales of lingerie typically associated with Valentine's Day were minimal. 'Sale' signs in store windows were not enough to lure customers into spending either. "They will come and look and say they'll be back," said Sheila whose store was having a special Valentine's Day sale when she was interviewed by Sunday Business earlier this week.
"I don't think most people have any money and a lot of them are not interested in buying gifts so soon after Christmas," she said. To her, February 14's seemingly waning popularity stemmed from the belief that many people saw the day as just another way to eat into low levels of disposable income.
"It just doesn't seem to be a big deal to most Jamaicans this year," she said.
For Magic Hands, a beauty salon located in St. Andrew, Valentine's Day in previous years often meant juggling numerous appointments for hair and nails for several days before the special day approached. This year, however, performance has been somewhat lacklustre.
"I think this year's Valentine's Day will be the slowest we have seen in a while," said Paula Messam, hair stylist and owner of Magic Hands. "Everybody is complaining about not having the money to spend on their hair just for Valentine's Day."
On the up side, card sales were relatively high for the period with most pharmacies reporting satisfactory sales of Valentine's Day cards.
"Our cards are moving fast," said the manager of Monarch Pharmacy in St. Andrew. Teddy bears were also popular sellers though chocolates were slow movers. "We have gotten a good response in general," she said and pointed out that sales usually increased considerably at least two days before or even on Valentine's Day because of the last minute rush. Tropic Pharmacy's cashier also said greeting cards were the most popular item for Valentine's Day, with small gift items like perfume and other personal items coming in second.
GIFT PACKAGES
She also noticed that many shoppers opted to create their own gift packages buying items individually instead of purchasing larger, more expensive gift baskets. 'Many are comparing the cost and some find it more affordable to do it this way," she said.
The manager of Best Regards, a card and gift store in St. Andrew said things were going well. "We definitely can't complain," she said. For Best Regards, next to Christmas, Valentine's Day accounted for the highest volume in card sales.
Though Valentine's Day is synonymous with giving beautiful bouquets, some florists said the week leading up to Valentine's Day was nothing to rave about. Most agreed that since bouquets consisted of freshly cut flowers, a lot of customers opted to wait until the last minute to place their orders. "Business has been slow this year," said salespersons from two St. Andrew flower shops, Rhona's Gifts and Flowers and That Blooming Florist. Kreations Flowers, Gifts and Things said sales had been "fair" but not as good as last year's performance. They were still hoping for business to pick up as Valentine's Day drew nearer. However, not all florists lamented this period.
"Valentine's Day sales are good this year," said Geoffrey Shields, chairman of Shields and Shields Greenhouses. Commenting that red roses were enormously popular, he said: "We have a variety of plants but for this period it is almost impossible to sell anything without red roses."
Mr. Shields said rose growers looked to Valentine's Day for higher revenues compared with the rest of the year. "Rose growers make most of their profits during this period," he said. In fact, red roses are the most popular flowers for this period, according to Tony Crooks, manager of Best Buds, followed by red carnations and white orchids. Sales levels at Best Buds went well for Valentine's Day 2004.
EARLY PROMOTION
"We did a lot of promotion early so we received many orders," said Mr. Crooks. He noted however, that what could have been a record period was somewhat negatively impacted by Valentine's Day falling on the weekend. "Most people like to send flowers to offices," said Mr. Crooks, explaining that most people often preferred to brighten their sweetheart's day during the work week with a beautiful bouquet or gift basket. Nonetheless, according to Mr. Crooks, Valentine's Day remains the largest occasion to give fresh flowers, accounting for a high percentage of florists' annual transactions. "This is our peak period," he said. "They call it the florist's Christmas!" he said.
