A huge industry hitherto built around Christmas festivities is fast eroding the cities and urban centres no thanks to the biting economic crunch which has seen many individuals and corporate bodies literally operating on a shoe-string budget and cutting down on expenditure especially during the yuletide. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Charles Okonji in this report examine the different factors which have took the shine off Christmas
“I think the National Assembly did agreed to postpone Christmas this year until Easter next year by which time things would have improved considerably economic-wise,” said Mr. Vitus Akudinobi, almost convincingly during a telephone conversation with one of his wards who kept pestering him for Christmas gift.
Akudinobi is not alone as many people really would have wished that the lawmakers could use their legislative powers to adjourn the Christmas festivities until the prevailing economic crunch ease off a bit but this is not just possible.
Is it really Christmas? Though a simple enough question, the answers, we can wager, won’t be simple enough because of the possible differing views of individuals who depending on their economic status would offer their own perceptive answers on how they feel about this year’s Christmas festivities, which is just a matter of days from now.
Joy of good old Christmas
A lot of people look forward to Christmas because of the joyous excitements and certain air of freedom that herald the festivities. It is a period a lot of activities take place from meeting and greetings, housewarming ceremonies, wedding parties, retreats, vacations to mention just a few with all the merriment that goes with it.
Besides, it’s also one occasion people do a lot of shopping for their loved ones, friends and associates sparing no expense as it were. But with the increasing economic hardship, many people have had to manage their expectations as it were just as others have tended to be very moderate in the way and manner they celebrate the yuletide.
Reality bite
The reality of the hard times is not lost on anyone. Whether from the organised private and public sector to individuals, people know it’s no longer economically wise to lavish all kinds of expenses on the Christmas festivities as doing so has dire consequences on the short, medium to long term.
When our correspondents went to town to feel the pulse of people on their expectations for Christmas, the respondents across the different geopolitical and socioeconomic divides gave varied answers.
Sights and sounds of Christmas
From Marina in Lagos to Kubwa in Abuja, Owerri in Imo, Abakaliki in Ebonyi, TransAmadi in Port Harcourt, the received wisdom out there and much of which resonated in the different conversations is the fact that times are really hard as such, not many people would make merry this period.
Speaking with a cross section of respondents in some parts of Lagos metropolis, Port Harcourt and Abuja, they confirmed that the hustle and bustle of Christmas which hitherto resonated during this time is no longer there no thanks to the poor purchasing and disposable income, rising cost of living, etc.
A visit to some of the supermarkets and malls around was an eye-opener of some sorts. Some of them who stock up goods for seasonal sales were also not good advertisers of what they were supposed to be selling.
First the ambience and surroundings hardly showed it was time for the usual bliss and fun time associated with Christmas.
Most of the buildings looked drab and completely out of tune, not even the simplest emblems of Christmas, including the traditional flowers and décor associated with yuletide hug their walls, thus given the impression that the Christmas festival may have been postponed until further notice.
In a chat with Afolabi Sunkanmi, a Sales Rep with Addide Stores, one of the frontline supermarkets in Lagos, he said admittedly that Christmas this year is not looking very promising compared to celebrations in previous years in terms of the buzz and thrills associated with the festivities.
“We’re in the middle of December already and hardly can you see any sigh of anything going on anywhere,” he deadpans.
Probed further, the fellow who recently just resumed at the Ladipo branch which is ensconced within Matori Industrial axis of Lagos disclosed matter-of-factly that the reason for the lull in celebration this year is the biting economic crunch which permeates every sector.
According Sunkanmi who puts in over 13 hours of work every day, the poor outing is simply a reflection of the parlous state of the economy. “If you take a sample of major streets across the cities you can’t find any sign of Christmas and you can’t blame anybody but the economy. What is there to celebrate anyway when you don’t have purchasing power? I earn just about N40, 000 per month and I’m a family man with kids and many mouth to feed. It’s the same thing everywhere. People are just struggling to survive his time. Times are really hard. If you look at most of the malls and supermarkets operating in most cities they are not so heavy on decorations as you would expect.”
Pressed further, he said, “Most of the stores around the cities even our branch networks of over 47 stores in Lagos metropolis and environs just used up old decors for Christmas. What we did was to just dig into our archives to bring out what we kept after previous years’ decorations and nothing more. We chose not to hand these decors outside the front office because they could be stolen by streets urchins and resold at giveaway price, ditto for most of the banks too. Many of them are also not decorating their front office for the simple reason that the economy is not smiling at this time around.”
It was the same at other popular marts including Spar outlets, Justrite, etc. A visit to Grocery Bazaar, a chain store which sells fast moving consumer goods at the Iyana-Ipaja axis of Lagos was scanty. Speaking with the manager who simply identified himself as Emma, he disclosed that this was the first Christmas sales the branch would be engaging in as it is barely eight months old.
In other branches scattered across the major cities in the country, Christmas season usually witness bumper sales of some sort, Emma informed.
“The only thing I can say is that we had what you call a terrific weekend last week, our own version of black Friday where we gave fabulous discounts to shoppers who came to the store. Naturally, there’s boom in sales because of the massive discounts on offer. We’re already stock up for Christmas as you can see. We hope to see more increase in sales,” said Emma with a ring of excitement.
Another important industry which offers services during the yuletide is transport sector. Investigation by The Nation revealed that air and transport fares are unimaginably high too during the yuletide. Many people are traveling to see their loved ones in the hinterland, villages and cities alike just as many are taking a holiday for the period.
A visit to some of the major transport companies including: Okeysons Motors, GIG Motors, GUO Motors, to mention just a few, most of them said they were having an uptick in terms of passenger movements across major cities and naturally their there is a percentage increase in transport fares.
Even banks known for investing in decor and designs during Christmas paid scant regard for such fancies. At Ladopi axis of Mushin, Lagos and other parts of the metropolis and environs, with fair presence of old and new generation banks none of the banks wore a new look for Christmas as it used to be the tradition, a development, one of the staff of the banks said was a reflection of the belt-tightening measures being adopted by the banks.
Season of reward
Most businesses, especially those within the FMCG segments do clearance sale by this time of the year so the old stock are disposed at rock bottom prices to pave way for new stock in the incoming year.
Besides, others carry out loyalty reward packages to serve the different segments of the market.
Confirming this development, speaking in an interview with the Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria, Ms Victoria Uwadinka, told our correspondent that what the company does during the yuletide mainly is to reward customer loyalty more than anything else.
“As you know, Nestlé is about nutrition, health and wellness, and most of our programs in this Christmas season is to the health and wellbeing of Nigerians. This is why we have chosen to use this period to reward Nigerians with our wellness products. We mapped out the 15th of December for the reward of our numerous consumers. We are also using this period to educate and ensure that people know what healthy nutrition and hydration is all about, that you don’t just eat and stay at a place, but exercise the body to good health. Irrespective of the current economic situation, we are enjoying maximum patronage, “she said matter-of-factly.
Even fleas markets don’t come cheap these days
Normally during festive period a lot of people who can’t ordinarily afford new outfits for their wards rely on hand-me-downs otherwise referred in local parlance as “Ok Boutique or Okrika.” But most of the wares in the flea markets don’t come cheap these days. According to Emeka Okeke, who deals on second-hand goods, a visit to some of the flea markets in Okokomaiko, Lagos, Sabon gida, in Kano shows that luxury goods like furniture, home appliances are costly.
“Before now, we used to sell most of these items and make small margins but it is really tough these days. Most of us are barely scratching the surface. We can’t break even. We hope things would get better in the coming year,” Okeke said.
Automobile sellers count losses
In the view of the Managing Director of Baba ‘D’ Motors, Agbado Lagos, Mr. Dayo George, not many of the car dealers are looking forward to Christmas. “This Christmas season car sales dropped drastically when compared to this same period last year,” he began.
Speaking further, he said, “We are yet to recover from the shock that the economy passed through in the past few years. Normally, at this time I would have stated celebrating the season, as you can see, there are no decorations, and I did not make gifts for my customers and friends.
“As it is now, people are not buying new cars even as the prices have come down because there is no money anywhere. Those that are even buying are only buying Nigerian used vehicles as it is cheaper for them. Some of my old time friends said that they took to that in order to still have some money to attend to other issues since the cost of living is constantly increasing.
“From my own point of view, many people would not travel this season as there is no money to spend as usual. Initially, we were thinking that when campaign ban is lifted, that money would be injected into the system, but since the election ban was lifted, the story has not changed.”
Experts’ views
The Director General of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf said, this situation is so because the disposable income in possession of Nigerians is very little compared to their demands, they resulted to the purchase of basic necessities to stay afloat.
It is not surprising as the economy is recording a GDP rate of 1.8 in the Q3 of 2018. It is not a healthy growth. The growth is only coming from the oil sector, and not from the non-oil sector, this means that there is no job creation, and it shows that salaries are not earned, hence there would be no money to spend. This is not healthy for the country’s economy.
The country has a very weak purchasing power; it will be very difficult for consumers to buy as they do not have the economic power to purchase.
The Director General of MAN, Mr. Ajayi Kadiri, who spoke to The Nation, noted the country has been witnessing consumption apathy. He said “We have witnessed drop in patronage of goods manufactured by our members, and our warehouses are full of inventory for lack of patronage.
“A lot of people are focusing on major needs, which are tagged necessities. Capacity has dropped, our warehouses are full of inventory and we have been recording low sales for some time which is an indication of a dwindling economy.
“The season of this Christmas is lack luster, so we are looking at the government to take necessary steps in returning the economy to normal. Basically, we are close to election where the economy ought to have started experiencing fresh injection from the patronage of electoral campaign materials and advertisement, but the politicians have become conscious, that is why low politics is plaid, and the citizens are more conscious.”
In the view of the President of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Dr. Mohammed Yinusa, he said, “This year’s Christmas season is like this because of the recent happenings in the country. People are becoming more conservative, because there is no much money at the disposal of the Nigerian citizens. As a result of less liquidity in the economy, which also means that the cash flow is at its minimum, that is why things are not happening. Economic activities are drastically on decline on the daily bases.”
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