{"source_url": "http://tribune242.com", "url": "http://tribune242.com/news/2019/dec/31/xmas-jewellery-sales-better-than-expected/", "title": "Xmas jewellery sales better than expected", "top_image": "http://thetribune.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/static-3/thetribune/images/pdf-edition.jpg", "meta_img": "", "images": ["http://thetribune.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/static-3/thetribune/images/obituaries.jpeg", "http://thetribune.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/static-3/thetribune/images/special-features.jpg", "http://i.imgur.com/fDh90ja.jpg", "http://thetribune.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/static-3/thetribune/images/pdf-edition.jpg", "http://c.statcounter.com/7859479/0/16c5ae61/1/", "https://i.imgur.com/B9cOe6l.jpg", "http://i.imgur.com/weF6a.jpg"], "movies": [], "text": "By YOURI KEMP\n\nTribune Business Reporter\n\nykemp@tribunemedia.net\n\nMany Bahamian jewellery retailers shrugged off early holiday season pessimism to report \u201cgood\u201d Christmas sales that beat 2018 figures by up to eight percent.\n\nDenise Cooper, area retail manager for Colombian Emeralds, told Tribune Business: \u201cThis is our best year yet. Best one we have had in a little while. We were up eight percent from last year with our smaller items moving more than the larger ones.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that this would carry on into the New Year, but the majority of our sales - some 90 percent of our sales - came from locals. You know that in January locals don\u2019t really spend, so we have to go back and depend on our tourists. Last year we had 75 percent of our sales that came from locals, with the rest from our tourists.\u201d\n\nMs Cooper added: \u201cBear in mind I include our Freeport stores in this increase as well, and you know the situation in Freeport with Hurricane Dorian, which attributed to a small increase, but overall it is still an increase and we are happy.\u201d\n\nAndrew Parker, marketing manager for the Coin of the Realm, said of the Christmas season: \u201cThe volume is up and it is a good year.\u201d He was unable to give a percentage on how much sales had increased compared to the prior year, and added: \u201cWe haven\u2019t calculated that yet. We won\u2019t calculate that until after New Year\u2019s Eve for the end of the month.\u201d\n\nNavin Biswal, chief financial officer for Park Lane Jewellers, said: \u201cChristmas sales were good, but it is down from last year. I don\u2019t have the numbers by how much it was down compared to last year, but I can say that smaller items were moving more than the larger items this year.\u201d\n\nPrior to Christmas Eve, some downtown Nassau jewellers had told Tribune Business they were concerned the festive spending season will be a softer than usual, with one saying: \u201cWe were a bit concerned because Christmas falls during the middle of the week, and whenever that happens business is normally a little different.\u201d\n\nAnother told this newspaper that their Christmas season forecast was \u201cnot particularly outstanding\u201d, blaming this on \u201ca combination of things\u201d from Hurricane Dorian to the value-added tax increase, in addition to the gap between the cost of living and what persons have to spend \u201cwidening\u201d.", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": [], "authors": [], "publish_date": "Tue Dec 31 00:00:00 2019", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Many Bahamian jewellery retailers shrugged off early holiday season pessimism to report \u201cgood\u201d Christmas sales that beat 2018 figures by up to eight percent.  Denise Cooper, area retail manager for Colombian Emeralds, told Tribune Business: \u201cThis is", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "", "meta_data": {"description": "Many Bahamian jewellery retailers shrugged off early holiday season pessimism to report \u201cgood\u201d Christmas sales that beat 2018 figures by up to eight percent.  Denise Cooper, area retail manager for Colombian Emeralds, told Tribune Business: \u201cThis is", "og": {"title": "Xmas jewellery sales better than expected", "type": "article", "url": "http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/dec/31/xmas-jewellery-sales-better-than-expected/"}, "viewport": "width=1020"}, "canonical_link": "http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/dec/31/xmas-jewellery-sales-better-than-expected/"}