Some business people are reporting an increase in sales throughout this year’s Crop Over season.

Eddy Abed, managing director of Abed’s, said they had high sales of beads, feathers and other materials used to craft Kadooment costumes.

“It was a better sales period leading up to the climax of Kadooment. We saw many fetes that drove people to purchase items that we sell,” he told the MIDWEEK NATION.

Abed said he supported making

Grand Kadooment a two-day event, and for Sunday to be made a formal shopping day.

Sunday

“As it is, so many informal people open on Sunday as it stands right now, that making it a formal shopping day I think would just seal the deal . . . . I’ve said before that businesses are driven by events, by scheduled parties, large events that are taking place. And all of us in the commercial sector would absolutely like to see another day where we can have more events scheduled and the opportunity to sell in those events.

“The truth is, it’s not been a particularly good year until Kadooment this year, so businesses are desperate for some better times to be able to . . . pay rents and cover themselves. I’m speaking on behalf of myself and as a commercial business driven by activities that we would very much like to see this.”

He added: “Every carnival throughout the Caribbean has a two-day festivity and there’s a reason why they have the two-day festivity. So, you know, it’s time that we embrace it.”

Abed expressed concern for the future of smaller Kadooment bands and the challenges they have in attracting funding and sponsorships.

“The bands this year were far too small. We only had [seven] bands that were judged in Grand Kadooment. That doesn’t all go very well for a festival that’s meant to be keeping people . . . and representing the culture. The reality is that all of these bands are market-driven. Their customers want the beads, the feathers, skin exposed, and they have to go in that direction.

“There needs to be a formula where the smaller bands are being identified

. . . and they get greater assistance from Government. If they don’t, we will find in five years they don’t exist,” he suggested.

The veteran businessman said support for more traditional heritage bands was important in distinguishing Crop Over from other festivals in the region.

“We have to be very careful as to what we end up with because it may be a festival just reproducing what many of the other carnivals are in Caribbean.”

Mark Clarke, store coordinator at Bridgetown Duty-Free, said Crop Over business was “relatively good”, with a slight improvement over last year’s. Alcohol sales were particularly high, he added.

“A little better than last year. Things are looking good. For the next two or three days, it would be a hive of activity in store.

“Before the Crop Over season, we had a lot of ladies purchasing a lot of shoes from our shoes department on the first floor, and some ladies’ fashion items. But after Crop Over, the liquor department, that’s where they’ll have the high bar activity, as well as maybe the perfume department, but that’s when you get the visitors coming to purchase their gifts,” he said.

“Usually, we would get the crowd after the Kadooment Day . . . . It’s a hive of activity. We usually get the visitors partying first, and then they shop for the liquor and, you know, their gifts to take back home.”

Choiselle Joseph is on an internship programme at The Nation Publishing Co Limited.

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