The Nation Newspaper

Tag: shops

  • Shops, malls gear up for last quarter sales

    Shops, malls gear up for last quarter sales

    The last quarter of the year when shop owners, online and offline, woo buyers with bonanzas and other freebies to make brisk business has come. It is also the time to restock for another year, TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

    The last quarter of the year is usually time for  bumper sales in shops; when many outlets and malls give all kinds of bonanzas and freebies to woo buyers. Not wanting their stock to spill over into the new year, they start clearance sales by October when the quarter begins.

    A visit to some sales outlets and malls within the Lagos metropolis and online monitoring showed that many retailers are making brisk sales by daggling  carrots.

    Every year, malls as well as shopping places come up with various promos to boost sales. Most times, their wares are displayed outside the store as if they will not be patronised if they are inside the store. To them, the  method is to sell at ‘give away’ prices. When done  online, it is called ‘deals of the day’ or ‘today’s sales’ as their promos blink endlessly the moment one logs on  the internet. The promos are usually placed in strategic positions for all to see.

    Most shops and malls visited said they were recording sales as much as 40 per cent regardless of the economic recession facing the country. Sellers are optimistic that by the end of the quarter in December, they would have achieved their aim of destocking and restocking.

    According to some retailers, turnout has been encouraging to push their sales this quarter.  Though, some said there were more window shoppers, nevertheless, the awareness has gained enough ground.

    A sales person at Daviva Store, an upscale clothing store, who asked not to be named, told The Nation Shopping that most retailers were coming up with one sales strategy or the other since the quarter began three weeks ago. According to them, it will help them make huge sales when the Yuletide eventually comes in.

    “Our promotional offers have been on since first week of September like every other store. We do this yearly so that we can have bountiful sales. We are pushing out as many items as possible by slashing their prices into three, sometimes four just to lure customers,” she said.

    Pressed further, the source said: “With this, we are able to do away with old stock, old designs and then bring in new ones for the New Year.”

    Mr Price, a South African clothing store with franchise in Nigeria, is said to have recorded a 50 percentage increase sales since September 1.

    From observation, the store has not stopped restocking and is experiencing serious sales from fashion lovers, who want fashion items that are in vogue as their items cut across all ages.

    Some other clothing stores such as Mango; Tommy Hilfiger; Nike; Ruff ‘n’ Tumble; Kids country, among others, as well as online stores, who only sell clothes, have brought in key fashion trend that is new in the fashion market and is attracting customers. With this, they are hoping they will make their revenue figure rise close to double of  what is expected as most of them said they were optimistic they would boost their last quarter earnings outlook.

    A sales person at ‘The Accessories 2 die 4’, a jewelry store’, Uduak Osere, said before the recession,  sales at her stores in their various locations in the last quarter are rated at 90 per cent and that at intervals, she would have to shut doors to help her manage the crowd already inside the store at times. “But this year with the present economic recession, we can only be optimistic that sales will not be too different from the usual and we have come all out with various strategies to help us achieve that,” he said.

    Apart from the high hopes of huge sales this last quarter by some businesses, gift-giving and fun treatments at the end of the year for children, are important   particularly, at shopping malls. Observations said stores that stock children gift items and those who use one fun item or the other to entice and entertain kids have started advertising last quarter shopping, which included Christmas shopping, which began since the beginning of August when back to school sales promo was on. This year, retailers are more aggressive with promotions, trying to clear out merchandise and restock new designs for the New Year.

    From investigations, only a handful, representing roughly 10 per cent of the Nigerian retail industry, report monthly sales when it is not festivity or specific sales period. That is why they all take the last quarter more seriously.

    For Debola Majekodunmi, a shopping analyst, “the no money in circulation issue is not peculiar to this year alone”. “Last year, the story was the same and with those known as high spenders when it comes to shopping and getting bonanzas or freebies. I don’t think we will do badly this year,“she said.

    She continued: “Though sometimes, there are undecided shoppers and procrastinators, but we want to be pleased with the sales we will make this time just like we were last year. This period is long awaited for.”

  • Lagos demolishes shops under power cable

    Lagos demolishes shops under power cable

    Lagos State has demolished  235 illegal shops and 125 containers at Igbara market, Jakande, on Lekki-Epe express road.

    It was carried out on behalf of the government at the weekend by the Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force).

    The exercise was in continuation of demolition of structures under high tension cable.

    The Task Force Chairman, Olayinka Egbeyemi, a Superintendent of Police, called on market leaders to enforce government’s directives on structures on high tension cables across the state.

    Egbeyemi, who was present to supervise the demolition, said the exercise should not be seen as punitive, but should be viewed from Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s  efforts geared towards saving lives and property.

    He enjoined market leaders in local governments and local council developments to support government by educating traders of the imminent danger in trading under high tension cables.

    Egbeyemi said high current flowing between these high tension cables with its intermittent sound poses imminent danger to people’s health.

    He confirmed that a seven-day notice was  served on shops owners and traders before the demolition was carried out, stating that no responsible and responsive government would tolerate any trading activities under such dangerous condition.

    Spare Parts Traders Association chairman at the market Mr. Ugo Onuha said they have been operating in the market for more than 20 years.

    He stated that the market was constructed by Igbara community, which comprises of three families: namely, Lawal family, Balogun family and Badanu family.

    He said the families collected N3,000 to N5,000  from those selling inside container shops. Others, who trade inside brick shops, paid N10,000 to N20,000 monthly.

    Onuha and his deputy Mr. Lazarous Obina pleaded with the government to construct low medium market for traders as those constructed by private developers was beyond their reach.

    A representative of Lawal family, Mr. Lateef Lawal, said since the government served the seven-day notice, the community started looking at a possible relocation of traders to a new land.

  • Fire razes forty shops in Ikom market

    At least forty shops worth millions of naira have been razed by fire at the Ikom main market in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State.

    Eye witnesses said, the inferno which started at about 2am on Tuesday was due to a power surge from the public power supply and could not be contained in spite of frantic efforts by shop owners to put it out.

    It was gathered that the state fire service station in Ikom, which was contacted for intervention could not act due to complaints of lack of facilities to combat the fire.

    The Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. John Inaku who visited the scene for a rapid assessment, expressed shock at the level of destruction.

    Inaku said efforts would be made by the state government to ameliorate the sufferings of the victims.

    According to him the burnt shops required total rehabilitation and urged the victims to remain calm.

    One of the victims, Mr. Augustine Chinedu who said he lost virtually all his goods worth millions of naira said it was devastating and urged government to urgently come to his aid.

    Miss Agbor Okey, a fashion designer said the incident has put her and the family in a difficult position as her shop was their only source of livelihood.

    The chairman of the Ikom Main Market Traders Union, Mr. Caleb Agwu called on government agencies, non-governmental organiations and philanthropic individuals and organizations to help in cushioning the effect of the disaster.

     

  • We can’t pay N400, 000 to reclaim our shops, say Daleko traders

    We can’t pay N400, 000 to reclaim our shops, say Daleko traders

    Traders at the demolished Daleko Market yesterday alleged that the developers are demanding N400,000 from them to reclaim their shops after rebuilding of the market.

    They told The Nation that they cannot raise the money in “these hard times.”

    “We are not slaves,” a trader said, adding: “Majority of us here are petty traders, and we were told we will pay N400, 000 each, to get our shops back after the renovation, I sell soft drinks and pure water, now tell me how am I going to raise such amount of money from this business?”.

    Another aggrieved trader Seyi Mustapha said their interest is not being protected.

    “We tried our best to ensure the market is not demolished, but it was just a wild goose chase; we found out that the market has been sold off five years ago. Now, after the renovation of the market, we are going to pay to get a shop, we are hearing N400, 000, but where can we get such amount? We don’t sell much and everything is expensive due to the falling naira. Government should please come to our aid, because we have nowhere to go.”

    A market leader Mr Bayo Egunjobi, urged the government to ensure that the new shops would be allocated to existing traders.

    Egunjobi said the traders protested to the Governor’s Office and the House of Assembly on February 26 and were told to “return on Wednesday for government’s position”.

    “We are surprised to see a lady, who called herself the developer, accompanied with the council and security officials and some thugs, destroying the shops.

    “Majority of the traders have been in this market for over 25 years. This is where we get what we use to feed our families.

    “It will be unfair if the market is demolished without the government either relocating the traders or telling the traders what would become of them when the market is rebuilt,” Ejunjobi said.

    Mrs Owolabi Taibat, a hairdresser, said she had just paid a year rent to the council when her shop was pulled down.

    Efforts to get the developer’s position failed.

    Mushin Local Government Executive Secretary Jide Bello could not be reached.

  • Fire razes over 300 shops in Ibadan plank market

    Fire razes over 300 shops in Ibadan plank market

    It was weeping and wailing Monday as over 300 shops, and other items worth millions of naira were again razed at Sango plank market in Ibadan in an early morning inferno.

    Also, no fewer than 50 sawing machines, three vehicles comprising of a truck and two cars were burnt into ashes in the inferno.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi has declared that Oyo state government will raise a panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire incidents that razed the plank market twice in three days as tension is mounting in the plank market over an insinuation that some people might have allegedly intentionally set the place ablaze to revenge the last Friday fire disaster which razed over 200 plank shops within the market.

    Unlike the last Friday fire disaster which affected mostly plank sellers shops, the Monday inferno completely burnt down the sawing machines section of the market with no fewer than 100 machines of various kinds burnt.

    Sources at the market said the fire was first noticed at about 12am on Monday during which some people were allegedly sighted moving round the burnt areas suspiciously after which the fire spread to other parts of the sawing machines section.

    It was gathered that all efforts by the traders and others who were alerted of the fire incident through the Alaro Central mosque public address system to put the raging fire off failed.

    Sources at the market said all efforts by the traders and the police team at getting across to the men of the Oyo state Fire brigade service failed as the plank sellers waited for hours watching helplessly the fire destroying their belongings with no single fire fighting vehicle coming towards their direction.

    When visited Monday, the traders were seen weeping and wailing with others parking the ashes of the belongings including the burnt sawing machines of different types as well as the burnt vehicles.

    It was observed that the incident has finally grounded commercial and others activities within the market over tension on the safety of the remaining part of the plank market from possible inferno in the next few days

    Governor Ajimobi who was represented by the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka; the Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade; a former Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ismail Olalekan-Alli; a former Special Adviser on Political Matters, Dr. Gbade Ojo; and a former Special Adviser on Security, Mr. Segun Abolarinwa during the
    visit expressed worries that the market could record two fire incidences within three days.

    Addressing newsmen through his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka said, “We are here to examine the extent of damage and to know the causes of the fire incident. Both the one that happened on Friday and the other that occurred in the early hours of Monday.

    The governor declared that amidst allegation of some conspiracy in the fire incident that gutted the market, the government shall thoroughly investigate the immediate and remote causes of the incidents to ensure that whoever is responsible is brought to justice.

    “We will not tolerate this kind of situation; arson is not what we must allow in any community within the state. This government holds preservation of lives and property very dearly.
    This is a state where everybody has the right to live and trade within the limit of the Constitution,” he said.

    While appealing for calm among the traders and members of the affected community, the governor said security operatives had been put on red alert to guide the market in order to prevent further losses.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the market association, Mr. Oladipo Faseyitan, while narrating the fire incident, said while the first fire incident was caused by a gas explosion from a nearby building, the second one could have been caused by a group of people who claimed to be the land owners.

    He explained that his members had for some time been having running battles with the land owners who had told them to either vacate the community or face dire consequence.

    Also, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Sango Police Station, Mrs. Joyce Maiyaki, said the police had been providing adequate security in the area just as she commended the state fire service for its prompt response in putting out the fire.

  • Fire destroys 20 shops in Ilorin

    A midnight inferno at the weekend destroyed 20 shops at Ojo-Tuntun market in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The fire destroyed goods worth millions of naira and burnt money left by shop owners.

    A source said the incident was caused by a spark from a cable when there was an outage.

    Guards were said to have noticed smoke from one of the shops and called the market leadership.

    An eyewitness said the prompt response of fire officials prevented the inferno from spreading.

    Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Alhaji Tajudeen Zulu-Oloje  said he received a distress call from one of the market executives about 2am that shops were on fire.

    He said the council was short of cash, but would rebuild the shops.

    Zulu-Oloje hailed the fire officials for their response.

  • Fire razes 200 shops at Ibadan plank market

    It was a black Christmas for about 200 plank retailers in Sango Plank Market, Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Friday.

    More than 200 shops were burnt to ashes at the market located in Alaro area of Sango.

    The fire was said to have started at about 3:00 pm and it was still burning as at 7.30pm with the men of the Oyo State Fire Service struggling to put it out.
    The loss in the fire is estimated at N250 million.

    The cause of the fire was unknown as at press time.

    It was gathered that the fire was fuelled by the large stock of planks in each of the shops and heaps of saw dust scattered around the market, coupled with the effect of the dry season.

    Only one fire service tanker was at the scene of the incident.

    As a form of self help, traders ordered tankers of water add to the water needed by fire fighters.

    The traders wailed as they saw their wares in flames with efforts too little to quench the raging fire.

    One of the traders, who simply identified himself as Adegoke, expressed shock at the incident. He recalled that he left his shop around 2.30pm after coming from home to attend to a customer who urgently needed some planks. He explained that he received a call that the market was on fire about 30 minutes later.

    His words: “Because Friday is Christmas, I decided to observe the festival at home like many of our members. But a customer called me on my mobile telephone while I was at home. He said he urgently needed to buy some planks so I boarded a commercial motorcycle to the shop. After the transaction, I closed the shop and went back home. I was still on the way when I had the call that the shops had caught fire.”

    Emphasizing that he lost stock worth N3.5 million in the inferno, Adegoke said: “I am a medium-sized trader but we have some of us with planks and equipment worth more than N5m in their shops.”

    Apart from the planks, several sawing machines and other logging equipment were lost in the fire.

  • Fire razes 65 shops in Kano market

    Fire razes 65 shops in Kano market

    No fewer than 65 shops were destroyed by fire in the furniture section of Sabon Gari Market in Kano on Thursday night, an official said.

    The Director of Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Balarabe Kabara, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the incident, which occurred around 8:30 p.m. affected permanent and temporary structures.

    Kabara attributed the fire to negligence but said the agency would meet with the affected traders to ascertain what they lost individually.

    “The main cause of the inferno is negligence because people are in the habit of playing with fire, especially now that it is harmattan period,” he said.

    Kabara advised the people to avoid unnecessary use of fire as any mistake could lead to fire disaster.

    Kabara recalled that seven female students recently lost their lives in fire incidents in two secondary schools in the state and advised school authorities to ensure proper monitoring of students.

    Kabara also advised students to desist from cooking and using electrical appliances, especially water heater and pressing iron, in their hostels to avoid fire outbreaks.

  • Fire guts shops

    There was a fire yesterday at the popular Maggi shop at Sabon Gari Market in Kano,  destroying parts of the one-storey building.

    An eye witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident occurred at 11:30 a.m.

    According to the witness, the fire was caused by a generator on the first floor.

    The witness said the quick intervention of firemen prevented the fire from spreading.

    ‘’No life was lost but one person, who was said to have jumped from the building,was injured,’’ the witness said.

    The Director of the State Fire Service, Balarabe Kabara,  told NAN that the fire was caused by a small generator at the first floor of the building.

    He said scraps from disused radio and television sets were destroyed by the inferno.

     

  • One killed, shops, vehicles burnt in cult war

    One killed, shops, vehicles burnt in cult war

    One person was killed; vehicles, shops and tricycle were burnt in renewed fighting by rival cult groups in Mushin/Idi-Araba axis of Lagos.

    The factions were said to have combed streets to smoke out their targets.

    Traders hurriedly closed their shops; residents retired early for fear of their lives.

    According to reports, the hoodlums came around 2:30pm on Sunday shooting sporadically into the air to scare passersby.

    They burnt down properties, especially shops and vehicles.

    Two shops, two vehicles and one tricycle (Marwa) were burnt on Karimu Street in Mushin; shops and houses were razed in Idi Araba.

    It was gathered that a  18-year-old boy staying on Awoniyi Street in Mushin who was returning from a football viewing centre, died after running into the cross fire.

    A woman, whose shop was razed, said she was eating when the first gunshot went off, adding that people came rushing into her shop out of fear.

    A resident said the problem of the groups was always women and money. Some of the clashes, he said, might have been fuelled by political rivalry.

    His words: “I know because I found out that each time they fight, either women or money is involved. It is always one of these two. You cannot also say they are commercial motorcycle operators or members of transport unions. The two factions cannot be said to be members of a particular profession. They belong to all professions. What is common is they are rivals and they apply dangerous weapons to fight one another”.

    Detachments of policemen reportedly kept vigil in those areas between Sunday and yesterday.

    Another resident appealed to the state and Federal Government to deploy soldiers in the area, “so that those who come every day to destroy properties and disturb our peace can be checked”.

    He said: “I have been staying in this area for over 10 years and I have witnessed over 30 of this disturbance. It is a matter of every other day occurrence. Why should things be this bad in a state where there is a government? The police seem unable to control the two factions because they know those involved but they cannot arrest them. So many people are being killed accidentally in crisis they don’t know anything about. It is time the state and Federal Government met to solve the Mushin/Idi-Araba uprisings”.

    Police spokesman Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) said the situation had been brought under control, adding people were now going about with their lawful business.

    The police, he said, were getting to the root of the problem, adding:  “Our men will continue to be on ground to make the place unsafe for hoodlums and secure for residents and businesses”.