OBA Urge People To Shop Locally Over Holiday
“People should do as much as they can to support Bermudian shops and jobs and buy locally this holiday season,” OBA Leader Craig Cannonier said.
“We have all by now read how the retail sector in Bermuda is suffering from a collapse of sales volume,” Mr Cannonier said.
“This holiday season could be make or break for some retailers and I would urge people, where they can, to spend money on gifts locally.
“I know that many people are suffering thanks to new and increased taxes and charges and that it can sometimes be cheaper to buy online, but the retail sector here employs only Bermudians – thousands of Bermudians.
“We recently heard that 200 jobs have been lost in the retail sector in the last two years. Let’s use this holiday season to try and make sure no-one else is left unemployed in 2020.
“So please, if you can and in the time that is left, use this holiday season to give the gift of a job to a Bermudian – and shop local.”
While de OBA Merchants and Business men are selling their products at 300% markup.
I don’t think I’ve read such a constant stream of stupidity on a daily basis from anyone. You really should get a prize, for being consistent, on your game and clearly, unemployable.
Ok, here is PROOF.
An 18 or 20 volt NAME BRAND Power Drill cost less then $200 @ Home Depot.
Pick any Hardware store in Bermuda and you will pay at least $500-$600.
Tick Tock
Tick Tock indeed, especially with your Govt. taking us to Fourth World status.
Like you pay your Nannies Forth World wages.
Is that what you call “proof”?
Come on now, OJ gets paid to stir up emotions, not to provide actual proof of anything.
Just yesterday he claimed that Bermuda used to have plantations, which every Bermudian knows is not correct. What does that tell you about OJ?
Home depot? Might as well have said amazon. Thinks are cheaper elsewhere. Tell your stupid gov to ease up duty and maybe prices will go down. Simple right. But as usual, keep up the excuses, its what u and yours are experts at. Deflect deflect deflect. Lmao.
That’s cause places like home depot get manufacture pricing Direct from the manufacturer. Gorhams most likely have to get it from a dealer, plus shipping to Port in the US, shipping and duty.
I go myself a good hammer-drill in the back of town for $200.00. New and in a hard case…
Even at SAL? How about the pharmaceuticals at the Pheonix?
If it’s that easy why don’t you set up a shop. Sell stuff at 200% markup. Employ only Bermudians. Give them all 6 weeks vacation and 70 days sick leave. pay them top dollar. Show us all how it’s done.
No one working in retail gets 6 weeks vacation, 70 sick days and earns top dollar.
Neither does anyone in the civil service.
BPSU sick leave and BIU sick entitlement is 14 weeks year. That’s 70 days.
I’m just telling your mate he should set up a business and run it like he thinks everyone else should run their business. Sorry if the facts are inconvenient Portia.
You know how I know you’re lying….
I tell my family this all the time. Don’t run off to the states to give them and China all your money, spend locally. Enrich your own. One area where I would support a tax increase is on personal imports. You should raise those by 10 even 20% to curb down on all the business amazon is stealing from our local retailers.
Tariffs. The same idea as Trump. Well done.
Expand their product base then. Some things simply are not available here
You do realize that everything sold in Bermuda’s stores is imported from abroad? When you buy something in a local store the store uses that money to purchase more goods and so your money is going to…the U.S and China. The customer just pays less for the same item by getting it themselves.
And Amazon isn’t stealing anything from anyone…in many cases it just offers products at better prices with more variety. That is how business works. If Bermudians aren’t entitled to a job (as many posters have said in the past) then neither are local retailers entitled to our dollars.
You must be rich to say that,i order Dewalt impact driver and hammer drill combo it cost me from amazon landed in Bermuda $679 at Gorhams it would have cost me at the time $1700, that was a few years ago, shop BDA a joke if i could bring food in i would to, i will never get tools here
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a politician buying anything locally, that is except when it is for a photo op, or time to campaign for votes.
Our so called leaders fail to lead by example.
What is the Government doing to encourage people to shop locally I feel for the local store owners because I am one but the cost of duty is too dam high and the selections are limited. Rents & import duty and shipping is too high.
No money for frivolous stuff this year. Not even going to get a box of chocolates. Bah Humbug!
A gift card at one of the home centers would be nice. Roof needs doing. Need a new pump & maybe a pressure tank. The grinch in green stole Christmas.
Ya, de trickle turned into a drip after AC.
LMAO
That means you too Onion Joke. Ease off on the Walmart shopping.
Buy local and help the shops, but screw yourself in doing so. Great.
If you have lost your job, how in the world can you afford to pay Bermuda prices?
It’s a catch 22 situation.
Glad to see someone speaking up for retail after Jason Hayward’s comments yesterday saying that retail and wholesale were insignificant! Which is factually incorrect, those sectors hire ~4,000 people not to mention folks that use retail as a source of additional income to survive the ridiculously high living costs and taxes of Bermuda. He should do his research before spouting off incorrect facts and being disrespectful to the hard working Bermudians in these sectors. Retail has actually come along way with many more independent boutiques than 20 years ago when the 40 thieves owned all the shops.
Hayward has no clue. He is one of the 20% of the getting paid population getting a check stamped by the taxpayer & has never actually produced anything.
The Civil Service shuts down to go parade around the HOA preventing the business of the people being done & life goes on. Nobody really notices.
If the wholesalers, the grocery stores, the home maintenance & other services shut down even for one day without notice the Island would grind to a halt within hours.
Thank you Craig – after Jason Hayward’s comments, it’s good to see that someone cares.
If I could purchase groceries overseas, I would. Bermuda is way too expensive. It cannot continue this way. A bag of local carrots $6.99. It seems all of the costs have gone up since the sugar tax. I didn’t realize that sugar affected so many things including local fresh fruits and vegetables. It seemed to even affect the cost of kitty litter
When will this stop. It is not sustainable.
Its called Greedy Merchants.
Don’t mind OJ, folks, he is paid to tell lies to stir up emotions. I would prefer him to work for Donald J. Trump, but he seems to prefer Bermuda and the PLP to where ever he comes from.