Retailers have reported brisk sales of Christmas trees, decorative items and children’s toys ahead of the festival. Some traders, however, say demand has dropped significantly compared to the previous year as a fallout of the global economic slowdown. Shops are vying with each other to woo customers with special festival offers and discounted prices. More colourful varieties of the products are available in the market this time. Low-priced items are said to be in high demand as people choose to celebrate at affordable costs. “Christmas trees are now available in many colours other than green and there are more takers for the new colours. We are selling trees of various sizes, from three feet to 12 feet. Most people prefer the smaller ones because they are more convenient for small houses and the prices are low. A number of vacationers are buying the trees to take them back home,” said an official of the Lulu Hypermarket. He said the company will be offering special festival promotions beginning today. “The demand is as good as last year,” he claimed. An official of Dream Shopping Center said the outlet had been drawing a large number of customers with its wide variety of products and attractive prices. He, however, said sales had dropped by about 25 percent compared to last year. “The global economic crisis has had its impact on all businesses and we are also affected. But sales are good, though down compared to last year,” he said. An official of Naaz Stores, which has also come out with special festival offers, said demand had fallen drastically compared to last Christmas. “We have Christmas trees with sizes ranging from two feet to 10 feet, priced at QR28 to QR700. There is good demand for small and medium-sized trees but there are very few customers for the more expensive ones. People are mostly preferring the low-priced items, apparently to cut down expenditure,” he said. He said many traders had cancelled orders for more stocks, fearing a slowdown in business this festive season. Prices of all Christmas items have gone up by about 15 percent compared to last year. “There is good demand for children’s toys. We are offering special prices for popular toys from reputed brands. A majority of our customers are westerners,” said sources from Toys R Us. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=December2008&file=Local_News200812233150.xml

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