GST puts damper on CNY spending
Published on: Saturday, February 06, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: It is almost a tradition for those celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY) to get a new set of electrical appliance before it is ushered in, but as the Year of the Monkey debuts amidst a dour economy, weak ringgit and the unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST), the fun appears to have been taken away from the celebration. Just a week before the celebration, shopping malls are noticeably quiet and Karamunsing, usually packed with electronic-shoppers, are not as lively as before. Daily Express spoke to a few electrical appliance shop owners and managers who expressed their concerns that the GST would cause their sales to further deteriorate.
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SenQ Digital Station Karamunsing branch Category Manager, Fernandez Stewart, said despite having a CNY promotion, they still could not match their sales during CNY last year."During CNY, there is usually a full showroom but now there are fewer people."We tried to regain our sale by having a lot of promotions and discounts but customers are still not coming in. "I think they have pre-emptive perceptions of increased prices of electrical appliances," he said.
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The GST was introduced in April last year, almost two months after the celebration.He said overall the company has its minimum target that it needs to maintain and that the revenue is 'cukup-cukup makan' (just enough) to cover its expenses.
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Similar situations were reported at Huat Ming Enterprise Sdn Bhd Karamunsing branch – that the GST has put damper on CNY spending. "Our sales during CNY is by far the best ever since the GST was introduced. However, it is still considerably low compared to previous years."People used to come here before CNY to buy TV sets, refrigerators and air-conditioners," said the branch manager, Chin Wee Siong.He lamented that the sales for this year's CNY is the worst since the company started its operation 10 years ago.In the background, one of the staff exclaimed 'Kami mahu GST dimansuhkan!' (We want GST to be repealed).Chin said they still see regular customers but they simply don't buy as much. Digimate Sdn Bhd, a company that has been operating for almost 30 years, however, said it has seen a steady stream of customers visiting its store in Karamunsing despite the poor economic climate. The company owner, David Ho, said it had its worst sales in May last year, a month after the GST was introduced, but that sales have been picking up since. "We only suffered in May, after that the sales had been gradually increasing. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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