The six-day 70th Macau Grand Prix (MGP) kicked off on Saturday, and several booth owners selling MGP merchandise told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that their sales over the weekend were “beyond expectations”.
The male owner of the Triangle Sport Macau booth, who set up a MGP booth for the first time, said that thanks to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic the 70th Macau Grand Prix has attracted more visitors, adding he believed that the event’s last two racing days (next Saturday and Sunday) will attract more visitors to the Grand Prix. He also said that the government has done well in its promotion campaign for the Grand Prix and Macau’s cultural and creative products.
The female owner of the MEEET booth, who has taken part in the sale of the MGP merchandise since its 65th anniversary, said she was “quite surprised” about the increased people flow over these two days, adding that several overseas drivers competed in the races yesterday, her booth also received “quite a large” number of customers. She also said that she could not imagine how many visitors the Grand Prix will attract this week, adding that she has told her staff to reserve some merchandise for the following race days, so as to avoid her products being sold out before the Grand Prix ends this coming Sunday.
Macau Grand Prix (MGP) visitors throng around a booth selling MGP merchandise in the Outer Harbour area yesterday. – Photo: Yuki Lei
The male owner of the TARMAC WORKS booth told The Macau Post Daily that someone had complained about the long queue at his booth, adding that at about 10 a.m. he had already sold all the products he had prepared for the whole day, or just one hour after yesterday’s races had started so that he had to restock. He also said that his products had been “well-received” by MGP fans, including Hello Kitty-styled car models. He also said he believed that the two-day increase in race days would help increase his booth’s revenue too.
Ripert Hugues, who has run a MGP booth for over 20 years, said: “I feel very bad [about this year’s arrangement] because we used to have the best spot at the beginning of the street, however, we are squeezed into a spot in a new area this year,” adding that he found it unfair that local brands have been pressed into such an insufficient space.
When asked about his expectations about sales during the upcoming MGP weekend, Hugues said he guessed many people will come this week from Hong Kong and elsewhere because of the international races (such as the Formula 3, Guia Race and Motorcycle Grand Prix) this Saturday and Sunday.
