Merchants to unveil sales plan as cricket bowls off

City merchants are getting ready to roll out their business plan to cash in on the Barbados leg of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup that starts Sunday, a top business figure has revealed.

Chairman of the Bridgetown Revitalisation Committee Eddie Abed disclosed on Monday that retailers will unveil a variety of packages this weekend.

“It depends on what type of business you are in,” Abed told Barbados TODAY. “Those who are in food and beverages have got several types of plans in place, with reference to not only the days that the matches are on in Barbados. The days that the matches are not on in Barbados, they have got some packages that are going to be put forward to the public to try to attract their business, obviously. 

“Those of us who are not in that type of business are trying to use the off days, while people are on the island, to try to get them to come into our stores for souvenirs, duty-free items, and generally give them the opportunity to see what else Barbados has, apart from sea, sand and cricket.”  

The business sector has put together several types of marketing plans that they will roll out in the coming days, Abed declared, while declining to give details of the plans until the tournament bowls off on Sunday.

“However, I am confident that you will start seeing it rolled out from the end of next week,” the Bridgetown Revitalisation Committee chair said.

While the West Indies’ first match will be against Papua New Guinea on Sunday morning in Guyana, Kensington Oval will host its first game that night between Namibia and Oman.

The other matches slated for the Oval are England versus Scotland on Tuesday morning, Australia against Oman on Wednesday, Namibia and Scotland on Thursday and Australia and England a week from Saturday.

Barbados will host three of the 12 Super-Eight games being held in the Caribbean between June 19 and 24 and the final on June 29.

None of the West Indies’ group games will be staged at Kensington. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb