Disasters spell lean demand for holiday decors this year

CEBU, Philippines - What used to be a peak season for lantern and Christmas decoration vendors for years has turned out to be lean this year taking into account the upshot of the series of calamities that struck the country in the past two months.

Now that the selling period of lanterns has officially concluded today with the Christmas Day to be celebrated this Wednesday, vendors in Cebu echoed the same sentiments of suffering from low sales performance this year compared to the previous years.

Janet Gordola of Pampanga’s Parol has been selling assorted, electrical lanterns made of capiz shells for eight years.

Her family business makes them travel back and forth from Manila to Cebu just to take advantage of the holiday season where people has been accustomed to buying lanterns and other Christmas decorations.

For this year, Gordola began selling at the end of September and ended last Sunday. She has three lantern shops in Cebu located in Barangay Mambaling, Barangay Basak Pardo and Barangay Tipolo in Mandaue.

However, she lamented on the lean season given the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude quake last October and the super typhoon Yolanda last month.

In her Mambaling outlet alone, she only sold 200 pieces this year compared to the 500 pieces produced and sold last year.

“Mahirap makabawi sa puhunan kasi mahina talaga ngayon. Mas malakas ang benta noong nakaraang taon,” Gordola said, adding that she has invested the same capital in 2012 and this year.

She cited that there is sufficient supply of the raw materials only that the demand is low. Her lanterns are sold from P1,000 to P5,000.

She further noted that she understands the situation of the Visayas region and remains hopeful that along with those families in calamity-hit areas, Gordola shall also recover her sales by next year.

Albert Hiludo, caretaker and vendor of Rolly Store located at Carbon Freedom Park, said that it is sad to note that they only reached half of their sales this year than what they have earned last year. He added that they sold over 100 lanterns in 2012.

Aside from having only one supplier this year instead of two, he said that the crisis felt by most Filipinos at present resulted to the lean selling season in their business.

“Mingaw gyud ron. Mas pilion sa mga tawo nga magtipid karon labi na kato naigo sa kalamidad,” he said.

The 24-year old vendor, together with his father, also makes and sells wooden Christmas trees sold from P200 to P2,000. Hiludo cited that they were able to sell 21 pieces of Christmas trees last year but only sold nine pieces this year.

Lanterns sold at Rolly Store are priced from P40 to P350. They started selling the lanterns on the first week of November and will end effective today.

As of Saturday, there were still ten lanterns left unsold. Hiludo expressed hope that all of their supply will be sold out or else, keep it for the next year’s holiday season.

The 52-year old Coring Embrado, popularly known as Gang-Gang among her colleagues and customers, began selling lanterns last November 6.

She shared that she has not implemented any price increase for her lanterns so as to be able to sell all of her supplies this year. Prices for her lanterns are pegged at P35 to P350. She had sold out all of her lanterns in 2012 while only one is left unsold in her store this year.

Embrado shared that most of her buyers are from government offices and churches especially those from Leyte, Tacloban and northern part of Cebu.

“Dili mahurot ang baligya if dako kaaayo akong ipatong, bahala’g ginagmay akong ginansya, basta mahalin lang tanan akong mga inangkat na parol,” she said, adding that she only earns a profit of P5 for every lantern sold.

While selling flowers at Carbon Freedom Park has been her primary means of livelihood for years, the lantern business has turned out to be Embrado’s alternative source of income every month of December. /JMD (FREEMAN)