MONTEGO BAY, ST James – With less than 24 hours to go before the commercial world shuts down to celebrate the birth of Christ, western Jamaica entrepreneurs are seeking to boost sales with huge discounts for an apprehensive clientelle that is bracing for a stiff new tax regime.

“Right now we are offering an 80 per cent discount on all Christmas trees and Christmas decorations except for the lights,” said Kennyon Jones, the Inventory manager for the Montego branch of Mega Mart store.

He added that the store which opened its doors two years ago is also offering discounts on general items ranging from five to ten per cent and offers weekly markdowns on a wide range of items. Managing director at the Jamaican Style Gift Shop in Negril, Prakash Chuganey, said he has reduced prices by up 20 per cent.

“We have reduced the prices on almost everything that we sell including a wide range of clothing, gift items, toys and jewellery,” he told the Observer West.

The store– which carries the ‘Yardie” line of clothing– Chuganey said, gets most of it support from locals including taxi and mini bus operators.

He noted however that sales have been sluggish despite the reduction in prices.

Owen Reid, the managing director at Regon Distributors in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth is also reporting slow sales despite discounts ranging from five to ten per cent.

” Sales are still slow but I am hoping that things will pick up over the next day or so,” Reid who stocks electrical items, plumbing supplies, power tools and paints.

At the nearby Angie’s Boutique, proprietor Angie Salmon said she is hopeful that the five per cent discount she is offering on clothing, handbags and shoes will result in increased sales.

Paulette Vidal of Paulette’s Fashion in Lucea who is offering between 25 and 50 per cent discounts on many items in her store is also hopeful that sales will pick up on Christmas Eve.

” I am hopeful that over the next two days sales will pick up so we will do much better than what we are doing now,” Vidal said.

Anthony Pearson, the managing director of Lloyds Department store in Montego Bay told the Observer West on Tuesday that sales had dropped in comparison to last year.

” The fact is that disposable income is less this year… there is just not enough money going around…… some persons are not getting any Christmas bonus while others are getting less than the previous year and so this is helping to make sales a bit flat,” Pearson explained.

He added however that because he has a strong customer base he is not overly worried.

Lloyds Department store has been in business for more than four decades and stocks a wide array of men’s, children’s and women’s clothing, toys and household items.

In the meantime, a number of vendors who ply their wares in Falmouth, Savanna la-Mar and down town Montego Bay say they are anticipating fairly good sales today at the respective Grand markets.

Already the parishes’ local authorities have announced traffic changes in th various towns to facilitate shopping.

In Savanna-la- Mar, for example, vehicular traffic will not be allowed along Great George Street between its intersections with Baptist Lane and Lewis Street as of today and on Christmas day.

Additionally, no vehicular traffic will be allowed on Beckford Street between the Lewis Street and Barracks Road intersections during the same period.

In St James vendors will be allowed to ply their trade along North Lane, Long Lane and along Church Lane, between St James Street and St Claver’s Avenue until the end of the month.

In the neighboring parish of Trelawny several roadways in and around the town of Falmouth will be closed to vehicular traffic to facilitate the grand market in Water Square and adjoining roadways.