Increased costs, shipping challenges to impact selection of Christmas decor this year

As the Yuletide season nears, at least one major retailer is putting Barbadians on notice to expect a shortage in Christmas décor.

Managing Director of Woolworth Martin Bryan said shipping disruptions and the exponential increase in the cost of some items meant there would be limited decoration options this year.

The news has come as no shock to Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) Trisha Tannis who says she expects similar shortages to continue for at least the next six months.

Bryan told Barbados TODAY while Barbadians could continue to look forward to a wide variety of curtains, linens and toys, decorations would not be as plentiful.

“I think Christmas décor on a whole is going to be short. Christmas decorations, lights – a lot of the items you either cannot get or the price is too expensive to bring. We have been looking into some Christmas stuff and, honestly, the prices are astronomical so I think you’re going to get a shortage of Christmas-themed décor,” Bryan admitted.

“In some cases, [the prices] of the stuff we are looking at have gone up double and triple so we’ve had to make decisions to not bring certain things. Not necessarily curtains and linens and clothing, but the speciality items are going to be in limited supply. Toys should be ok. We have a shipment here now and we have some more coming so our toy department should be ok.”

A supplier of real Christmas trees, who asked not to be identified, told Barbados TODAY she was not sure whether she would be able to source and have those delivered in time.

She said she had encountered some difficulties and there was a possibility her usual customers would be left disappointed.

“Since last month, I’ve reached out to my suppliers but they are having some serious challenges. I’ve even tried reaching out to other suppliers but there is no guarantee I will be able to get them in time.

“In any event, I will be ordering significantly less as the prices have skyrocketed so it will only be for persons who place an order,” she said.

Tannis said she was not surprised to hear of possible shortages.

She said the logistical issues caused by the war in Ukraine were still in play.

“Essentially, what we are seeing are decisions that the retailers are going to have to make, because it is one thing to say let’s bring what everybody wants but then when we see the prices are going to be excessive it would be better not to bring the items than to have persons continue to cry out about the cost,” she said.

“So, you will be seeing some products that you are used to not on the shelf, or you may see different brands that you are not used to because distributors and retailers have switched to a lower cost brand while not compromising quality and value for money, and this will be the reality for at least the next six months.”

On the upside, Tannis said the prices of 20-foot containers were beginning to normalise to pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels, although explaining that it would take “several months” before that was reflected on the local market.

Store Location Manager at Bridgetown Duty-Free, Mark Clarke told Barbados TODAY he did not expect any challenges as the store was not a major provider of Christmas decorations.

He said the company had taken a decision to place orders for other items for the Yuletide season well in advance.

“We don’t do the Christmas decorations. That was Tasha’s Wonderland and they are no longer a concessionaire with us. So for all other categories, what we did is place our orders earlier, obviously because of the supply issues and the shipping,” Clarke explained.

“We actually have merchandise coming in, as we speak, in October and from October through November we will be receiving merchandise, so we will be adequately stocked for our Christmas season in all of our categories… – houseware, linen, gifts, perfumes, so we have everything for the customers.”

Clarke added that there had been no major price increases on those products and he gave the assurance that the company would continue to offer competitive prices.

“The prices are still attractive and we still have our specials in the perfume department, which is the most sought-after gift for Christmas, so it will be a good Christmas for the customers,” he said.

(randybennett@barbadostoday.bb)