BUSINESS IN SWAN Street is at its lowest and some store owners and street vendors are calling on Government to rescue them and provide solutions to challenges they face.
Some of these challenges were conveyed to Opposition Leader Mia Mottley and Small Business Shadow Minister Cynthia Forde as they walked through Swan Street and immediate areas, meeting with store owners and street vendors.
Speaking to the media during the tour, Forde said vendors and shop owners complained that they were reeling under the economic pressure and were not making a profit on their stock because they were forced to considerably reduce the price of items.
The majority complained that they struggled to pay their high rent and utility bills and were contemplating closing their businesses.
One store owner said that she had recently given up her rental space and moved her stock to the streets for sale, because she was unable to pay her rent.
Forde said: “We have been able to go in and see some of the vendors who have indicated that they could not manage anymore and had to close down.
She suggested that it would be useful if landlords communicated with tenants to see “how they may be able to reduce the price even though things are slow”.
“We are seeing so many empty stores . . . . We are really facing a serious economic challenge and of course unemployment is rising. When unemployment is rising and people have to face families, that too takes a toll on what is happening,” said Forde.
Owner of Genesis Touch on Swan Street, Sharon Small, said that for the past year “things have gotten really rough”.
She was finding it almost impossible to pay her high rent and utility bills. She called for not only a decrease in rent but also financial assistance.
“The telephone is getting their money, the light bill is getting their money, the [landlords] are getting their money but yet still we are struggling trying to get a plane ticket, trying to get stock and then we have to be faced with duties and customs. So we are asking for help in Swan Street that we can live also,” said Small.
Keann Walters, who closed the doors of her boutique just under three weeks ago because she could not afford to pay the $3 000 a month rent, said she was tired of excuses from Government.
Walters said: “I would like some relief from what is happening now in Barbados as well as a lot of these store owners. And by extension, people who have jobs and are being laid off we want relief. We cannot survive.” (AH)