is the retailing activity going on since the beginning of 2009, when compared to the same period in 2008?

The business is better than what we expected. Due to the global meltdown, we expected a negative growth in all our stores. But on the contrary, against the same period there is increase in the number of footfalls which has resulted in the increase in business. But I must say that the average purchase value of each customer has declined. So that means customers are little bit cautious in what they spent.

Has the global meltdown affected retailing in Oman?

I will not say that it hasn’t affected at all. However, what we hear from around the world, we can easily say that impact in Oman is much less and of course it varies from business to business.

What strategies have you implemented to cope with the recession?

With the pace at which business were growing we had aggressive plans to expand. But now we are little cautious in selecting new locations. But we have gone aggressive in advertisements and
other in store promotions. This year we have introduced new brands in watches like Axcent, Oxette, Jetset, Voila etc, and consolidated our suppliers in household and fashion goods. We also
have planned to launch our loyalty programme with lots of surprises for our loyal customers.

Is the second half of 2009, going to be better than the first half, in terms
of business? What is your view?

Definitely, the business will be better than the first half as the initial panic is over and with all the festivals like Ramadan, Eid and Christmas are packed in the second half we expect our business
will be better than the first six months and also achieve a higher growth against the same period last year. Do you expect the forthcoming festive occasions to have a positive impact on retailing activity? Yes. Starting with Khareef in Salalah and ending with Christmas, we at Salman Stores are positive about the whole season ahead this year.