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Sales down by 15 percent
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Posted on Mar 30 2006
Business sales have consistently declined by at least 15 percent since the departure of Japan Airlines last October and the government’s announcement this year of more belt-tightening measures due to lack of funds.
Saipan Chamber president Charles V. Cepeda and leading retail store executive Clarence Tenorio Jr. said yesterday that the plunge in sales may be between 10 to 15 percent, compared with the same period last year.
A businessman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the figure may even reach a high of 20 percent.
Cepeda, who is also the general manager of Pacific Trading Corp., said the company’s sales went down by 10 percent. PTC is a local dealer of popular wine brands, soda, and beer products.
“Sales are down. With our company, we’re losing about 10 percent in sales. I’m also seeing a consistent decline in other businesses,” said Cepeda.
Tenorio, head buyer and vice president of JC Tenorio Enterprises, which owns the Joeten chain of stores on island, said that storewide sales declined by about 15 percent. He said the trend was most noticeable after the JAL pullout last October.
“We’re seeing that in the local market. This is very consistent since [the] JAL pullout,” he said.
Although Japanese tourists are still coming to the islands, they are not buying much from the stores, he said.
He added that, these days, Japanese tourists are “very picky in their spending.”
“The buying power is not there. They are young and are probably college students. But at least they come and still do some buying,” said Tenorio.
Joeten Store in Garapan usually gets tourists as customers. Other Joeten stores are located in Susupe, Dandan, and Chalan Kanoa.
Likewise, the government’s cash-strapped situation has also made people more conscious of their spending, said Tenorio.
“Everyone knows that the government is in trouble. People are very cautious now,” he said.
Tenorio projects a further decline in sales if and when the government implements a 10-percent cut in employees’ salaries.
“If there’s salary cut, naturally people will have less money to spend,” said Tenorio.
