1st PH Discount Market: Benefits And Challenges

Festive seasons present opportunities for sellers to make increased profit, as people do a lot of shopping around the period. There is usually a general increase in prices of many items especially, food, clothes, shoes, bags, varing gift items among other necesities due to this increased demand.

During this period, people travel to popular places like Aba, Onitsha and Lagos in search of these items at reduced prices. They damn all the risks associated with trips especially night journeys just for a little profit margin.

The situation will however be different in Rivers State this season owing to a peoples’ friendly policy of discount market introduced by the state government.

Experts describe discount market as a market where sellers increase sales and profit and buyers get a great deal; a trading market in which notes, bills and other negotiable instruments are discounted.

As a way of making this year’s christmas shopping easier and cheaper for residents, a market which sells consumer goods at reduced prices was opened in Port Harcourt on December1. It will last through out the month.

The market initiated by the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry has a discount arrangement where prices are slashed down against prices at open market.

Declaring the market open, wife of the state governor, Mrs. Judith Amaechi said the aim of the discount market was to enable families and individuals carry out their shopping during the festive period at reduced prices.

She equally noted that the market will also oil the loca economy.

“The 1st Port Harcourt Christmas market will develop and grow our income and have a multiplier effect on the economy as well as provide jobs for unemployed youths who will develop their entrepreneurial skells,” she said.

She called on Rivers people to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the market to do business and also shop at reduced prices.

Some residents are already doing that and have different accounts of their impression about the discount market.

Mrs Onowu a buyer said, “the prices of things here are okay. It is lower than what we normally buy from the market. I pray this kind of thing continues every year.

“Parents will be happy to be here, knowing that price of things are cheaper than what they normally buy from the market. They will save a little money  for other things or buy more with less amount,” she continued.

Similarly  Miss Ebere Amadi, a buyer said the prices of clothes and bags were discounted, “I was given this clutch bag for N3,000.00 at Mile 1 market, but here I bought it for N2,500.00. So, it is good to have a market like this” she said.

The story was however not the same for Mrs Monica Osakwe who was seen purchasing a bag of rice.She said, “My dear I have just managed to buy rice. I came here thinking that things will be cheaper but they are not. There is actually no discount, even certain things are more expensive here than in the conventional  market.

“I bought Milan Gold rice now for N7,800. The last time I bought it, it was N8,000.00. That is the only thing I have seen that has a little discount. I went to the bonvita stand and the size I buy N600.00 outside, is still N600.00 here. So I do not see any difference.”

She called on the state government to intervene and ensure that accounts discount was given on every item.

Mrs Osakwe had an ally in Pastor Joseph who described his experience in these words, “I came to see what is happening here. the prices of things here are very costly. Prices of certain things here are higher here than their prices in the market. For instance the good I ate here was quite expensive. I’m happy about the environment and what is happening here but they should reduce the prices of things.”

Some of the sellers equally shared their opinion  with The Tide. Mr. Stainless Egwuonwu, sale’s representative, 7Up Bottling Company Plc decribed the whole idea of organising a discount market in the garden city during the yuletide as very appropriate and thoughtful, noting that it would help both the rich and the poor to have a memorable christmas celebration as they would be able to buy all they needed at affordable prices.

He said his company gives 20% discount on all their products which attracts more buyers to their stand. “Because of the high discount many people have been coming. Even dealers outside have sized the opportunty to maximize their profit. It is a wonderful idea and the timing is very right too. At this time of the year when a lot of people in the conventional markets are increasing the prices of their goods, inside here they made it mandatory that nobody will sell above the market price and it is working,” he noted.

Like wise, Mr. Okolie David, sales executive of Diajo Brand Nig Ltd. (a spirit company), said the discount market would impact positively on his company as they use the medium to advertise their products which is relatively new in the market and also get more dealers and distributors.

He scored the organisers of the event very high. “To me, the discount market is a success, the turn out is very impressive. If I should score the discount market, I will give it 99%. They have really done every thing that needs to be done in terms of security, power, accommodation.I don’t think anybody has recorded any loss of item.

“We never paid any dime or lobbied any body to be here. The allocation and everything is free. The interview ways very transparent. There was no favoritism. I want to thank the state government for  creating this opportunity “for poor man to follow chop” in this Christmas.

Mr Okolie opined that the discount market would have huge positive impact on the economy of the state as many big companies participating in the event would use the avenue to source for wholesalers, which in turn would create market in Port Harcourt.

He was optimistic that going by the success recorded, many other states governments, would soon imitate Rivers State. “I pray that this should be a yearly thing because it’s a very good idea and Rivers State is the first state to do this kind of thing”.

Mr Ironine Hygienus Nwankwo, of Milan Nig Ltd had this to say about the discount market, “there has been impressive sales. There is daily improvement on the turn out of people in the market. And we the sellers do our best to sale a very low price. For instance in the market I know they sell my rice for N9,400 but here we’re selling for N7,800.

“The discount market is going to impact on my company positively because our aim of coming here is to let people know our product and that will mean more patronage for us in future.

Other participants like Stella Wejinya of Market and Trade Unit, Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) gave very good account of the discount market. They said it would be of immense benefit to the buyers, sellers and the entire state. They appealed that it should be a continuous exercise which would take place during every major festive period in the country.

During the opening ceremony of the special market, the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Chukwuma Chienye, warned traders to ensure that they sold at nothing less than 10% of the prices of goods in the open market. He said the state government was ready to eject from the market any seller who refused to comply with the rules.

To ensure strict compliances to the directives, Mr Patrick Igbo, team leader of the market guards, set up the Ministry of Commerce intimated on the measures adopted. Hear him: We go out for routine inspection. We also encourage buyers to come to us with negative reports about any of the participants. We pasted it round the market that anybody who observes sharp practices by the participants should let us know.

“We have told the participants that if we get complains about them from buyers and we find out that they are true, they will be ejected from the market. That is the directive of the commission and we must carry it out.

On the issue of quality, Igbo said most of the products in the market were of high quality. Although he did not rule out the possibility of some sellers coming with low quality products, he said the onus lies on the buyers to deny such seller of any patronage, noting that such action would force the seller of low quality products out of the market.

He observed that a major problem faced by the organizers was space as more sellers kept rushing to the market seeking for accommodation even as the allocation exercise was  publicized and conducted in November.

He assured that the organizers would take note of the challenges experienced in the first Port Harcourt discount market and work on them with a view to having a better outing next time.

He maintained that with the huge turn out of both sellers and buyers individuals, families, and the state will surely reap from the Christmas market.

Calista Ezeaku