Inner-city shopkeepers find creative ways to cater to customers pockets
By Kimmo Matthews Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Monday, October 07, 2013
Print this page Email A Friend!
The harsh economic times have forced many inner-city shopkeepers to become more creative in pricing basic food items to suit the pocket of their strapped-cash customers.
Selling a single slice of bread may not be the norm in Jamaica, however, it is in many of these areas where shopkeepers retail a slice of the product for $20.
[Hide Description] Glass case in Tivoli Gardens with sliced bread on sale. (Photos: Bryan Cummings)
[Restore Description]
2/2
“When you operating business in the inner-city you have to come up with creative ways to meet customers,” said Sandra Campbell.
Campbell, who operates a shop in her Tivoli Gardens community was one of several persons who said that with people buying less, local businesses were forced to do more to keep their doors open.
“You find that people are buying less, as they are not earning as they would like as many of them are unemployed; in other cases things are just naturally hard,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.
Pauline another shop operator in Olympic Gardens agrees.
According to Pauline, she has been purchasing items by the bulk and selling them in much smaller parcels for several years.
She ,however, admits that in recent times she has had to further reduce the size of the items for sale.
“People are really struggling right now. Them spending power gone so if you don’t get creative you bound to suffer,” she said, while attending to a customer at her shop last Friday.
Pauline explained that her customers can purchase a quarter of a loaf of bread.
“Well for me I sell a quarter of the bread for $50 and if they want, people can purchase a cut of butter for $20,” said Pauline, explaining that this butter is just enough to spread on two slices of bread.
In Kingston Central another shop operator has also had to further reduce the quantity of some basic food items in order to meet her customers’ budget.
“Right now all half pound ah flour, rice or sugar me sell at my shop,” said the pleasant-face business owner who identified herself as Merl Davis.
The shop owner said half pound of rice or flour ranges from $25 t0 $30.
Operator of a wayside cookshop, Leroy ‘Lick Shot’ Williams, said this is a way of survival for residents in these areas.
“Yes man I am fully aware of the practice that is how we shop and restaurant owners have to structure our prices to reach out to customers; If we don’t do that we will suffer,’ said Williams as he uses a machete to cut up pieces of meat.
Williams explained that at his food shop, customers are able to purchase a meal of rice and peas and chicken back for $100.
“With one of these meals a youth who nah work can buy a food and a small drinks and still survive,’ he said.
In the same community Samantha ‘Poochie’ Beckford shares similar sentiments.
A liquor store-owner and operator, Beckford said this approach is essential to the survival of businesses.
“Yes because even at my business people are able to buy liquor and other drinks and juice much cheaper than what they could get at a regular shop,” she said.
In the St Andrew Community of Maverley, a road side restaurant operator who identifies himself as Wayne agrees.
“Economically things are getting harder so business operators have to be trying to find ways to slash prices to meet the customers,” he said
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica reports that the unemployment Rate in Jamaica increased to 16.30 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 from 14.20 per cent in the first quarter of 2013.
The report stated that Jamaica’s unemployment rate averaged 13.89 per cent from 1991 until 2013, reaching an all time high of 16.50 per cent in December of 1997 and a record low of 9.80 per cent in December of 2007.
In Jamaica, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Bread-sold-by-the-slice-_15053101#ixzz2h3nU2zyR
mi tel yuh seh di price a bread n chiffon did a guh go up pup uppppp…aye tessane yuh wikkid :hammer
smh…mi feel fah dem.
But aano nttn new…..when mi did a grew inna di 80″s . Dem time dey quatta bread and all 1 stick a butta a sell a shop………..history a repeat itself. (aaah so di ghetto set up, times hawd all di time)
Ah dat mi sey to misself wen mi read di article @Juck…. Nutten new, caw from eena di 80s n 90s mi use to sell 1/4 bread an butta/cheese eena mi madda shop.
An instead ah buy 1lb ah flour an 1lb ah cornmeal, dem use to ask fi poun ah mix flour…..Survival story
Nite met and metters
night ooooooooooooooooo
Been a while Met, but mi still dey bout
hailingsssssss :kiss dem used to sell quarter bread long time from mi a pickney but not di slice man..mi neva know whey one whole bread look like till mi bout 10 oo :ngakak
At least some people will be able to buy what their pockets can afford. Bway life ruff fi some people star
Its a survival storyyyy real ghetto storyyyyy……
not new………….we use to buy half a bread n quarter bread in 70’s n 80’s