Political and non-political fund-raising activities raise the ire of retailers already hard-hit by recession. DAVID DARMANIN on the telethlons that stole Christmas
Complaining of a retail slowdown that is being “felt across the board” this Christmas, GRTU Retailers’ Section President Charles Borg Monday told MaltaToday that fundraising event organisers should plan out their undertakings better so that this “tremendous” season in retailing is not made worse.
Borg was referring to the Istrina Marathon organised on 6 December, the first day Republic Street outlets opened on Sunday to launch the Christmas shopping season.
“Initiatives taken for charity are praiseworthy, and in no way am I saying that these should not be done,” he said. “But I think they should be more organised so they don’t end up making matters worse than what they are for us shop owners.”
Borg said that access to Valletta was blocked to motorists on the day of the event, so “most people who came shopping ended up turning back.”
“We opened for nothing that day,” he said. “A higher influx in Valletta does not always result in more shopping. This can be felt during events such as carnival or, more recently, when St George’s Square was re-inaugurated. On these occasions, Valletta is full of people – but if they don’t come in with the purpose to shop, so you cannot expect shops to do well.”
Not only Republic Street is suffering. Borg said that due to his position in the GRTU, he speaks to different kinds of entrepreneurs from “grocers, supermarkets and souvenir shops to multi-stores of gold and fine jewellery… and we’re all in the same boat.”
Borg said that 8 December was a good day for shop owners, “but only when compared to the other days of this December, since it goes nowhere near 8 December last year.”
Borg lays blame on authorities. “We need to reach an arrangement with the Valletta mayor to close an eye on parking during this season. I am not saying that shoppers should be allowed to park in front of garages and in parking spaces reserved for the disabled. But wardens are being far too strict. For instance, people get fined for parking in spots reserved for government employees at 8pm… Find me one government employee who works till 8pm.”
He even complains that “reserved spaces in Valletta have been mushrooming again.” Borg had been actively involved in the implementation of the CVA system in the capital, and there had been an agreement to “remove reserved spots for ambassadors, government employees and the like. They had reduced, granted, but now we’re seeing them mushrooming again.”
Asked whether fundraising for political parties during Christmas is hindering the performance of retailers, Borg said: “If you go back to 2005 and the subsequent years leading to 2009, you will find that political parties have always taken the opportunity to fundraise during the Christmas period. If such fundraising was acting as a hindrance to shops, wouldn’t we have grumbled in the past?”
But Grace Borg of House of Grace and Exotique begs to differ.
“We are very politically conscious in Malta, and although the mentality is changing, there are still many who feel obliged to contribute to political parties,” she said. “I feel an obligation too – but only for Istrina.”
Grace Borg describes this year’s shopping season as “a disaster.”
“I would like to see any Prime Minister saying that there is no crisis now. It’s being felt by everyone and everywhere – all over Malta. I don’t have an outlet in Paola but people who own shops there have told me that it was the south that suffered most.”
By speaking to her customers, Borg said that she has “a very clear picture of what this is all about – and it is the utility tariffs that are to blame.”
She accused government of being “very unintelligent and cruel” for announcing the hike in utility tariffs so close to the start of the Christmas season. “They should have announced the increase in tariffs during the budget – but even that should come closer to the start of the year rather than in November,” she said. “We all know that the Budget affects the perceptions of people, thus influencing retailing. People are depressed now, and this is why we are not doing well.”
Going back to political fundraising, Borg suggested that the parties get together and agree not to carry out fundraising events on the same day, “and I especially don’t agree that such events are organised during Christmas. I don’t like the way political fundraising is done. Political parties, whichever they are, are there to serve the country and not to put pressure on people for money.”
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