City businesses eye back-to-school shopping boost

Some businesses have expressed optimism that next month’s reopening of schools will boost sales.

Acting Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson on Wednesday set the new school year to begin on September 21.

Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw closed the schools on March 19, shortly after Barbados recorded its first two cases of COVID-19.

The news of schools reopening has been welcomed by garment stores, bookstores and shoe stores reached by Barbados TODAY as they eye the returns from parents’ back-to-school shopping.

Managing director of Abed’s, Eddy Abed told Barbados TODAY: “We received the news yesterday that school would be opening on September 21 and although we are extremely optimistic that the back to school season will now start in earnest, we are also very aware that the situation may in fact change depending on the number of new COVID cases that we see over the next few weeks.

“But this is the certainty that most people were looking for so that they could plan themselves going forward.”

Manager at Cloister Book Store in Bridgetown Joyce McQuilkin also said she hoped there would be increased sales.

But she admitted that a decision had been made to cut back on inventory and warned it might lead to a shortage of some books.

McQuilkin said: “We cut back on our orders this year because of finances and everything else and we couldn’t just afford to go ahead and do business as usual so we had to reduce inventory. I know they might end up to be a shortfall somewhere along the line but there isn’t very much we can do.

“We are preparing as best as we can. Some parents have come out and have started to do what they need to do.”

She revealed that while business had “not been robust” since it reopened, she was not complaining as things could be worse.

At Shoes For U,  Dwight Tudor told Barbados TODAY he was grateful for the news.

But he explained that because parents usually shopped for shoes last he was expecting a late rush in September.

Tudor said: “I definitely think we should see a boost because of back to school. What I can say is that for all the years of selling shoes people tend to buy shoes last. They buy clothes and books first, but they buy shoes last because they are always fearful that children feet tend to sprout.

“There’s still a good six, seven weeks to go and people always tend to wait until the last two to three weeks before school reopens then you will start to see people heavily shopping for shoes.”

An employee at Shoe Max who asked not to be identified echoed the same sentiments and said she expected a late rush around the middle of September.

She said the increased business would be welcomed as things had been “slow” since reopening.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb