AS per a report in a national daily at least 25 super shops have folded their windows in recent years faced by rising cost of business and uneven competition while many others are in trouble to keep the doors open because of high tax, electricity bills and limited evening hours shopping time. It quoted owners of some supershops as voicing apprehension that more such chain shops would windup if the sales continue to drop in the dull business environment. A stiff slow down in sales and rising cost of doing business are causing them tension and the lack of a government policy to help promote the new generation shops against many odds is critically hitting this sector hard at this moment.
As the news report said they have quite rightly raised the question as to why the government is not formulating a policy for this sector although their trade association had presented a proposal to the ministry of commerce in 2011. They made their strong case for such a policy support in the proposal to overcome business barriers and to help the supershops to develop in keeping with the changing socio-economic perspective of the nation. In their views the biggest trade barrier they are facing now is from traditional shops; which can keep doors open down to the midnight to maximize sales and profits. We believe that traditional shops as small business have their low cost of operation owned by individuals. But supershops can also phenomenally prosper by offering products at lower cost for trading at mass production level.
But the fact that supershops have the time limit to close by 8.00 in the evening means that they have been forced to close during peak sale hours; which is a clear barrier to their business. The government has done it understably to reduce electricity consumption at peak time and such practice is also followed in other countries. We don’t know whether or not the government would allow them to operate in late afternoon, that is a critical government option. But it appears that a total of 109 supershops in this sector are the biggest employers now in chain shops providing jobs to over 5000 sales executives and staff, but they are not earning enough to recover cost and stay in business.
It is true that supershops are bringing a transition to the country’s shopping system allowing consumers to buy all that they want to buy from a single place; they also offer quality products as they claim. They are also offering a decent shopping practice slowly switching the system to global standard and they need a decent and effective policy support by all means.
As the news report said they have quite rightly raised the question as to why the government is not formulating a policy for this sector although their trade association had presented a proposal to the ministry of commerce in 2011. They made their strong case for such a policy support in the proposal to overcome business barriers and to help the supershops to develop in keeping with the changing socio-economic perspective of the nation. In their views the biggest trade barrier they are facing now is from traditional shops; which can keep doors open down to the midnight to maximize sales and profits. We believe that traditional shops as small business have their low cost of operation owned by individuals. But supershops can also phenomenally prosper by offering products at lower cost for trading at mass production level.
But the fact that supershops have the time limit to close by 8.00 in the evening means that they have been forced to close during peak sale hours; which is a clear barrier to their business. The government has done it understably to reduce electricity consumption at peak time and such practice is also followed in other countries. We don’t know whether or not the government would allow them to operate in late afternoon, that is a critical government option. But it appears that a total of 109 supershops in this sector are the biggest employers now in chain shops providing jobs to over 5000 sales executives and staff, but they are not earning enough to recover cost and stay in business.
It is true that supershops are bringing a transition to the country’s shopping system allowing consumers to buy all that they want to buy from a single place; they also offer quality products as they claim. They are also offering a decent shopping practice slowly switching the system to global standard and they need a decent and effective policy support by all means.
