Bakel, Jan 2 (APS) – Pastries, among different types of commerce, seem to benefit the most from the festivities marking the end of the year in Bakel (east), a time of strong growth in turnover in many economic sectors.
Pape Thiam, a pastry chef, affirms that business went well for him at the end of the year.
“To tell the truth, it really worked a lot on our side. And that’s been happening since the start of the Christmas holidays,” he told APS.
“Our turnover has really increased” during this period, insisted Pape Thiam, owner of a pastry shop called Bahoré, an establishment specializing in the sale of pain chocolat, croissants and chocolate drops.
He indicates that since Christmas and the large crowds characterizing this festive period, he has had to increase working hours to meet demand, to the point of eliminating break times.
“We used to take a break, but since the holidays, we no longer have that time. With the end-of-year activities, we remained on foot from 7 a.m. until 4 a.m. or even 5 a.m. to satisfy as many customers as possible.
On the other hand, for Amy Coulibaly, seller of children’s toys, firecrackers and other decorative items, the end-of-year celebrations did not meet expectations in terms of revenue.
“Things didn’t go as we hoped,” business “isn’t working.” Compared to last year when we sold a lot even before the start of January, this year that is not the case,” she says.
Awa had to be content with “some earnings” from the sale of firecrackers.” The toys, on the other hand, “have hardly moved, to tell the truth,” explains the saleswoman.
“Some people place orders, but don’t come back. I think they have no money, times seem to be tough,” Amy Coulibaly believes.
Farmata, a mother who also sells toys at the large Bakel market, hopes to sell her items at the beginning of January.
“We are still waiting to see with the start of the year if we can sell all the merchandise, but we have not noticed a big rush with the holidays of the year,” she indicates.
Senegal
