Carnival supplies sales ‘slow’

Samaroo noted that Large Mas bands had their band launches a lot earlier last year and would already be booked up. Therefore business with those band leaders was completed last year. Instead, it is with Medium and Small bands that the company is feeling the effects of this lack of income. However, Samaroo remains hopeful.

“By next week the store is going to be in a mess. It will be month end, and by then people would have their money to spend. Also they would be picking up their costumes and would be looking for last-minute items to spruce them up,” he said.

These “last minute items” include trimmings and accessories such as beads, feathers, make-up, boots, stockings, body paint, glitter, spray paint, and more. They were all “big sellers” every year, and he expected the same for Carnival 2013.

Exacerbating the situation, however, was a lack of proper parking in the city. Samaroo told Newsday many of his customers stated outright that they refused to come into Port-of-Spain for fear that their vehicles would be wrecked. “We have a big problem with parking in Port-of-Spain and I could not find a solution. DOMA (Downtown Owners Merchant Association) has tried, however, while we were given a temporary solution for Christmas, we haven’t been given a solution for Carnival,” said Samaroo. Therefore, Samaroo opened a store in MovieTowne during the first week in January for customers who need parking. He said customers were relieved and excited to see them the store in Movie Towne.

“The wrecking forced me to move out of PoS. It is pushing businesses out of the city. Soon everyone will move to the malls because customers do not mind paying extra for the convenience,” he said. Samaroo noted that the space at MovieTowne was not big enough to house everything, therefore they shuttle materials to the new store when it is required to meet customers’ needs. On the compound, they mostly sell accessories and a limited supply of fabrics.

In addition, Samaroos also set up two distributers — one in Tobago called One Stop Carnival Supplies in Signal Hill, as well as Magical Make-Up in Trincity mall. “People are asking us to move out of Port-of-Spain,” he said.

As the largest Carnival supplier in the country, Samaroo said his business was most affected by the slow 2013 Carnival sales. However, he said, as soon as Trinidad and Tobago Carnival was over, the company would begin supplying approximately 99 other carnivals all over the world, including Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Toronto, New York, Notting Hill, and Miami. “Our business is not as seasonal as people believe. Our season is ten months out of the year. So even if our season is slow we have the opportunity to try to get the sales in other carnivals,” he concluded.