The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Business is booming down town in Kampala as faithfuls countdown to Christmas. Hundreds of people have packed roads such as Namirembe near Old Taxi Park and Luwum Street near Mini Price shopping Centre to purchase merchandise from traders.
Some of the merchandise on sell includes decoration, cloth, household utensils, bags and shoes. URN visited the streets and noticed a visible increase of street vendors and buyers. Gideon Kule, a cobbler along Namirembe road just outside Mukwano arcade couldn’t hide his excitement.
He said the number of customers has increased this season. Kule explained that after buying shoes from the nearby shops, some of the people take the shops to him to mend them or redesign them further.
A shop owner in Kikubo only identified as Isma says customers are coming in gradually. Isma predominantly deals in scholastic materials like books, pens, box files and calculators among others.
He stocked his shop to cash in on the festive season. The new stock comprises of Christmas decorations, cards and Christmas trees among other Christmas items that are currently on demand. Isma says the turn up is good but still low compared to last year.
URN also visited shops dealing cloths. Many of the shops at Mini Price shopping Centre and Mukwano arcade were congested with buyers and trucks offloading new cloths for sale. Our reporter saw a number of traders persuading passersby to enter their shops and buy merchandise.
A shop attendant at Mukwano arcade told URN on condition of anonymity that they imported new stock in preparation for the Christmas season. The New imports are mainly comprised of women and youth designer wear, which are said to be on high demand.
The choice of merchandise here is dependent on the perception of a number of traders that women and youths are the biggest spenders not only during the festive season but also because of their love for new fashion trends.
Although the shop attendant is worried that the economic condition in the country could have affected the purchasing power of potential customers, she is optimistic that sales shall rise in days to come as Christmas draws even closer.
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