‘Devastated’ Linstead businesses yearn for post-lockdown boom
THERE WAS a visible stain of disappointment on the faces of some Linstead business operators yesterday as they confessed that they had expected a flood of customers following last Friday’s expiration of a twoweek COVID-19 lockdown in St Catherine.
The lockdown, which was initially imposed on April 14 and extended twice, was spurred by an explosion in COVID-19 cases in the parish linked to the Alorica call centre in Portmore.
Suzette Phillips, a senior employee at a clothing store in Linstead, said that although her establishment has been closed for over a month due to a decline in sales, the doors were reopened yesterday with the hope that business would pick up.
“The manager say we have to sell something because rent have to pay, so she said I should reopen and see if I can sell something. I haven’t sold anything from morning, but I still have hope,” she told The Gleaner minutes to 1 p.m. yesterday.
“I haven’t heard her (manager) saying anything about closing yet, but I know her and she will close if nothing not selling,” she added. “I don’t have a plan B right now, but I will have to come up with something [if the store closes].”
Phillips said that because she had to be relying on her almost-depleted savings during her month away from work, she is earnestly praying for a turnaround.
OPERATING AT A LOSS
It was a similar tale at another clothing store as owner Barrington Welch said he, too, was anticipating a boom in post-lockdown sales.
“The people dem did still a look food [during the lockdown] and a clothes me sell, so me never bother come out because I never think it make sense. Three weeks before the lockdown, since COVID, we hardly was selling anything. I was operating at a loss,” he said. “Before COVID-19, I would see at least 10 customers daily and just before the lockdown, it went down to the most three, but now after the lockdown, I have not sold anything as yet.”
Operating his business for more than 15 years, the entrepreneur shared that although this has been the most challenging period yet, closing the store was not an option.
OBF Finance is also feeling the COVID-19 crunch, according to its Linstead Branch Manager Patrick Beckford, who said that despite the vast majority thinking that loan agencies would have received an influx of clients due to the pandemic, most persons are staying away from racking up any debt.
“Since the lockdown, our business has suffered tremendously. We have been devastated by this COVID-19 pandemic. We are certainly hoping that it will pick up because it is not only affecting our clients, but our staff,” he said.
“Before this pandemic we were okay. We were keeping our heads above the water, but since the pandemic, very few persons are coming in to request loans and not only that, but in terms of repayment, our clients are also having a difficulty because their businesses have also been affected,” Beckford added.
There are currently 471 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jamaica, of which more than half are linked to St Catherine.