Traders report mixed results after Christmas trading period

Customers buy merchandise in Kampala during Christmas season. PHOTO BY GODFREY LUGAAJU

Kampala- Christmas season is a busy period where traders expect to make abnormal profits.
However, following the just ended festive season, traders have mixed results on the sales and profits that they made.

Some traders who Daily Monitor spoke to, said they made a killing while others did not sell as they anticipated.

Many traders said the just concluded Christmas season was the worst in terms of business compared to the past ones.

Counting losses
Mr Mathias Matesa, who deals in craft shoes at Corner House, opposite Mini Price Plaza, says the 2017 Christmas season has not been good compared to the past ones in terms of attracting customers and making profits.
He said during the 2016 Christmas period, he was able to sell more than 120 pairs of craft shoes bagging Shs3m but the sales reduced by more than 50 per cent in the 2017 Christmas season.

“This Christmas was a loss to me. I can’t tell you what happened but I only sold 32 pairs of craft shoes. This was a joke compared to what I sold in 2016,” Mr Matesa said.

Asked why he didn’t get many customers as he anticipated, Mr Matesa attributed the low sales to poverty as a result of long droughts that hit most parts of the country.

Mr Patrick Kakooza, who deals in women clothes at Galiraya Plaza, said for the last three Christmas seasons, he was able to sell clothes worth Shs900,000 but for this season, he only managed to sell products amounting to Shs500, 000.

Mr Kakooza said many people saved the money for school fees since many schools have hiked fees.

Mr John Mukasa, a cloth vendor at Gazaland Plaza, also expressed dismay with this Christmas season, claiming he sold only 50 dozens of shirts yet he usually sells 150 to 200 dozens during Christmas seasons. Mr Mukasa sells shirts at Shs10,000 bagging between Shs18m to Shs25m every Christmas but his sales reportedly dropped by 70 per cent though he does not know why this happened.

“This is the first Christmas season where I have sold few shirts since I started vending shirts in 2012. I had never failed to make Shs15m in December but this Christmas season, I only got Shs6m,” he said.

However, not all traders count losses. Ms Juliet Nalule, who deals in children’s clothes, said the Christmas season was good as she was able to make Shs600,000 per day tripling the sells she made last year.

“Last year’s Christmas season was a loss to me because I could make only Shs100,000 to Shs270,000 per day but this season I sold clothes worth Shs600,000 and sometimes Shs800,000 every day. It was a good one and I’m not complaining,” Ms Nalule said.

Mr Gellene Ssewankambo, who deals in women’s clothes such as skirts and tops that he sells from Shs4,000 to Shs7,000 and Shs2,000 to Shs4,000 said this year’s Christmas season was the best for the four years he has been doing business.

“In my life, I had never made Shs3m a day but this festive season made it possible for me. My clothes are second hand but of god quality and I think it is the reason they were liked by many people,” Mr Ssewankambo says.

Ms Mary Nakibule, a fruit vendor also counted profit from this Christmas period as she was able to make Shs130,000 everyday as opposed to Shs50,000 she makes in normal days. This, she attributes it to the big number of people who were in town for shopping.