Businessman Tonio Camilleri yesterday called on shop owners to start postponing their post-Christmas sales till the beginning of January.

He was asked to comment on how the business outlook seems throughout the January sales time window.

Mr Camilleri, on behalf of the Merchants Street, Valletta, business community feels that many times businesses shoot themselves in the foot by starting their sales right after Christmas, usually on Boxing Day.

“Very often, people are still willing to spend more money in the week between Christmas and the New Year. I think the earliest date sales should start is 2 January. Maltese businesses are not yet willing to work as a team. I think we should put in some more effort to work together,” he suggested.

Other commentators have in fact suggested that sales should start on a date which is stipulated by law, so that it gives businesses the chance to make the most of the Christmas shopping season.

Speaking yesterday on the first day of the January sales, Mr Camilleri said his shop keepers reported a busy day but nothing out of the ordinary. He owns four shops in Merchants Street and other shops in Sliema and Birkirkara.

He added that sales over the Christmas period in Valletta have been slightly less than those of Christmas the previous year, although he noted that businesses in other locations actually did slightly better than in Christmas 2010.

“Colleagues of mine who own businesses located in other places have reported figures that were slightly higher than those of last year’s. When considering the current economic climate, this is actually encouraging news,” he added.

Business in Valletta is at the moment suffering from many factors, including the lack of parking availability and ongoing infrastructural projects, he said. He is optimistic that the situation will improve once the projects are over.

“I believe it is a no pain, no gain situation. Parking is constantly decreasing from Valletta because of the new parliament project at City Gate. It is a misconception that parking in Valletta is more expensive than in other places in Malta as the parking fees compete fairly with those of Sliema for example. This idea discourages people from shopping in the city. I do hope business in Valletta will recover once the projects are concluded and people are enticed to visit Valletta more often,” he said.

This newspaper also asked Republic Street business community spokesman Paul Fenech, to comment about the January sales.

“They seem to be going well, however, this year’s January sales are not any stronger or weaker than those of previous years. They are slightly better than those of Boxing Day though,” Mr Fenech said.

He expects the rush to acquire a good bargain would pick up in the coming days.

Carmen Borg for the GRTU chamber of SMEs commented that nothing has changed since the GRTU issued its reports on business in the Christmas season.

The majority of those businesses surveyed said that Christmas shopping caught up mostly after the feast of Republic Day, on 13 December, and that the level of sales were similar to that of the previous year, with very few saying the sales have increased and slightly more, even though still few, saying sales declined compared to last year. The businesses that saw their sales rise this year said they worked very hard with promotions and offers to boost their chances of succeeding this festive season.

The majority also said that this outcome was expected since Malta is not immune to the effects of the European crisis. A few did however expect better as they thought the worst of the crisis was over and that consumer confidence would return, however recent negativism once again weakened consumer confidence, and people are once again cautious  in their spending.

Ms Borg added that it is too early to comment on how the January discounts will be doing.

Mixed reactions on Gozo tourism in festive season

Gozo Tourism Association president Joe Muscat told The Malta Independent that Gozitan tourism operators reported mixed reactions to how business turned out during the past festive season.

“Some said they had a better Christmas than last year. Others reported the same levels as last year and others said they had less business than the previous year. We are actually still collecting the information,” Mr Muscat said.

The fact that Christmas and New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday, and the bad weather, were among the factors blamed by Gozitan tourism operators, for the slow tourism activity over the festive season.

Mr Muscat commended the various activities that took place in Gozo to encourage tourists and Maltese holidaymakers to visit Gozo.

One cannot ignore the fact that many Maltese have bought a second home in Gozo. “Many have invited their friends to stay at their places for the weekend and partied in the New Year in the comfort of their own homes. This has both advantages and disadvantages,” Mr Muscat said.

The performance by Wintermoods held at Pjazza it-Tokk on New Year’s Eve was also praised by business owners in Victoria. “Patrons who opted to dine in Victoria before the countdown to the New Year had somewhere to go to before the clocks struck midnight.