Dominican commerce has adopted for several years a celebration that is part of American culture: the so-called Black Friday. A shopping period in which stores stay throughout November, in the local case, placing part of their products on sale.
But the current shopping season for the end of the year holidays is being impacted by the global problem in the supply of goods, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that is causing delays in global shipping, especially from China to the rest. of the world.
However, from local commerce, the main stores and commercial groups affirm that they have enough merchandise in their warehouses to supply the demand for Black Friday and year-end sales.
“Although there have been delays, we have been able to bring a large assortment to be able to offer our customers,” said Carlos Luis Quiñones, commercial director of Plaza Lama.
Quiñones explained that to prevent problems in the supply chain, caused among other causes by the shortage of containers, port closures and lack of ships, from affecting them, they looked for other options to stock up and bought in advance.
“We stock up on time, we also look for options like Mexico and Colombia, which have large industries. In this way, we can continue to offer super competitive prices to our clients ”, stated the executive.
Plaza Lama, La Sirena, Jumbo and Casa Cuesta, Cecomsa, Tiendas Corripio, telephone companies, among others, have been promoting discounts on their products since the beginning of November. Black Friday is scheduled to take place on the 26th of this month.
In the case of the Centro Cuesta Nacional (CCN) group, he pointed out that to minimize the impact caused by delays in maritime transport they have taken a series of actions.
“Normally for Black Friday is planned well in advance to guarantee availability of merchandise and we have enough inventory to cover both dates, even in the category of appliances, which is the most popular for the date,” said the group.
In the first semester of 2021, the commerce sector showed a growth of 10.3%, influenced by an interannual variation of 16.7% in the second quarter, higher than the 4.2% of January-March of the current year, according to the report of the Dominican economy January-June 2021, prepared by the Central Bank.
This performance was associated with the increase in commercial activity as a result of the gradual dismantling of preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus, such as the relaxation of curfew hours and the reopening of some commercial establishments, the document adds.
Similarly, Grupo Ramos, to which Tiendas La Sirena belongs, reported that for both seasons (Black Friday and year-end sales) they received the majority of shipments, so they have enough merchandise to supply the purchase demand. of your customers.
“The shortage of products has impacted all businesses in the country, but we have been able to get ahead, thanks to our planning and supply processes. For us it is very important to ensure supplies in all our stores. We make sure we have enough of the items that we put on sale or in our inserts so that customers can get the product they want, ”he added.
Grupo Ramos highlighted that they plan the provision of merchandise well in advance in order to minimize possible shortages in stores.
