Vox pop by Rui Pastorin
Yesterday marked the last day of the mainland’s Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday, with some businesses in the city centre, including two previously interviewed prior to the start of the eight-day holiday period, telling the Post that most of their sales expectations were met and even exceeded.
Exceeding expectations
Catherine, the general manager of the Old House Gallery near the Ruins of St. Paul’s, was happy about their performance over the holiday period, with sales both meeting expectations, which the Post was told by part owner Fong in a previous interview was hoped to be at least 70 percent, and even exceeding them. Selling postcards and souvenirs, among others, Catherine said that around 10-15 items were sold out during the period, while more people also checked out the gallery’s exhibition room after shopping.
“Foot traffic was quite good for us, for the business, which was twice or triple what it is on normal days. So, it’s pretty good”, highlighting that the shop saw the most people during the third day of CNY and exceeded even the weekend before the start of CNY that they had initially anticipated to be the busiest, according to Catherine.
Customers and sales were also more than double the expectations of 44-year-old Paula, a staff member of a shop selling Portuguese culinary delights who told the Post before the holiday that they were hoping to see a 60 percent increase in sales. “It was more than 60 percent, more like 100!” Paula said. “It was like five times what we make every day” during the four-day period, seeing long queues in front of the shop. The shop’s sales and customer base yesterday returned to normal, expecting to see busier days during the upcoming weekends.
Better than last year, hoping for more
Moreover, a business selling miniature artworks and souvenirs that usually sees an equal number of locals and tourists had also experienced better sales than expected, according to its owner surnamed Lou. “It’s the holiday, so we had a lot of tourists come to Macau and [some] locals were on holiday”, the 32-year-old said, and with more people out and about with families, there were more customers than usual.
Business was also better for a souvenir shop at the Ruins of St. Paul’s, according to a 65-year-old employee surnamed Chan. “A lot of tourists from the mainland came to our shop, so business was very good”, pointing out that sales were a little bit better compared to last year’s holiday period. In the long run, however, Chan said she hopes that Macau could draw more visitors from outside the mainland such as the US, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
Echoing an improvement in sales over last year was Selina, a part owner of a nearby shop, attributing this to now selling more Macau products and souvenirs. The 46-year-old was quick to add, however, that they are only able to cover the costs while their receipts are not as large as before, noting that the shop’s rental has also increased. Selina further noted that sales were expected to go down again as the holiday ends.
“Business was alright because this year’s CNY holiday saw more tourists. So many of them would come in to look at clothes or choose things”, said a local woman in her twenties who works in a retail shop. The business only opened this year and she said that she hopes that the shop would continue to do well even after the holiday period.
Another business that remained open during the holiday was a perfume shop that mainly has a Filipino customer base. A 39-year-old sales assistant noted that though business was just alright over the holiday, there were more customers from the mainland visiting the shop compared to other days. “It’s good that there were a lot of tourists”.
A family of visitors snap a selfie yesterday afternoon in front of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St. Paul’s. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
