Bridgetown market vendors report slow sales

 

Vendors plying their trade at Bridgetown Market along the Mighty Grynner Highway reported slow sales on Sunday.

 

Several vendors told Barbados TODAY this evening that they were expecting larger crowds, and robust sales, now that the street fair is back for the first time, after a three-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Operations Manager at Cou Cou Village, Kemar Harris, said he observed since Saturday when the market opened that “ it was not as busy as we would have expected post-COVID.

 

“But it is what it is. We are still grateful and thankful to be back out after a three-year break. But the customary Bridgetown Market that we would have seen over the years before COVID is not like before in terms of foot traffic.

“Normally, on the Sunday of Bridgetown Market, especially the evening time, you would have seen a more family-oriented situation whereby parents would bring out their children, but this year we have seen a decline in that,” Harris said.

The operations manager however noted that the food and drink stall, one of the key highlights of the street fair, has recorded moderate sales thus far.

Harris added, “We are hoping that later in the evening, things will pick up, and we are hoping for a brighter tomorrow. We are also hoping for good weather, for the sun to be scorching and for people to come out early to enjoy themselves and let us just be outside”.

Owner of The Don’s Toy City, Roger Goodridge, who said the market should have been laid out differently to create an environment for better sales, pointed out that the multiple fetes and parties happening in different parts of the island may have contributed to the lacklustre turnout on the Mighty Grynner Highway.

“Right now, we [vendors] are not making the money that we used to. First thing, the amount of fetes that they have, people are out at the fetes, so they did not bring out the kids.

“And then taking the play park down by the [BARVEN Market] was a mistake. Behind here [ an area close to the Barbados Coast Guard] is free and empty, and the people with the toys could have made more money,” Goodridge said.

Another vendor who said she was pleased with the return of Bridgetown Market stressed that she would have been happier if “the people and sales return too”.

“I thank the National Cultural Foundation for bringing back Bridgetown Market, which was missing in action because of COVID, but we are just not seeing the crowd that we are accustomed to, and this is Sunday evening already, we just have one more day to go before it is over. I am getting one and two of my toys sold, but the sales are just not like before,” the vendor who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Meanwhile, Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, David Comissiong, who visited the venue on Saturday and Sunday, said he supported the initiative and what it meant to the season. However, he too was disappointed with the low turnout.

“I am disappointed with the crowd. Obviously, we are not at the level that we are accustomed to being at in terms of crowd involvement for Bridgetown Market, and that needs to be rectified.

“Also, there is not the same quantity of stalls as in previous years, so obviously, the COVID hiatus has taken a toll, and I guess it will take some time to rebuild,” Comissiong said.

The Ambassador recommended that the NCF bolster the cultural content of Bridgetown Market to include more expressions of the country’s indigenous culture.

Bridgetown Market will end tomorrow, Kadooment Day. anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb