Back to school shopping spree By Kassey Govinden |17 January 2024
As we near the start of a new school year for state institutions, Victoria is once again buzzing with the presence of parents and students, rushing to do their last school shopping.
Seychelles NATION toured the town area to get a glimpse of the shopping spree.
The Cosmic Books and Stationery shop was crammed with parents buying all types of stationery such as pens, pencils and other writing materials for kids of different ages.
One parent who spoke to Seychelles NATION was purchasing school supplies for a six-year-old. “The search has not been as bad as it is easier to buy stationery in one particular shop compared to other school necessities.”
Further into town, we were met with a bigger crowd. Another parent who wished to remain anonymous commented that she found this time of year to be very hectic. “We are all in a rush to get the school supplies and we also have to beat the shops’ closing time.”
Another concern is people spend a lot of time to shop around comparing prices and quality supplies before buying. “It is very time consuming especially when shopping for school bags having to go from shop to shop just to pick out one,” said one girl.
For Trilucs store, on the first floor of OJ Mall, business during this time has been booming and the store is very busy. “Our last cargo order sold out within a week and we are waiting on the next shipment,” shared the shopkeeper, who also added that their customer base has grown since last Saturday.
Another shopkeeper said their main requests were for belts and school bags mostly. “Parents and kids have been coming since Saturday to place their orders.” However, they expect the number of customers to increase as they near the end of the week for the last-minute shopping.
At SA’s tailoring on the first floor of Diva’s arcade, the seamstresses were on their toes taking orders for both private and state schools including post-secondary institutions. Long queues of parents could be observed waiting to purchase uniforms or place their orders. “Parents have been making calls, texting and also passing by the shop to place their uniform orders since last week, and we have been swamped since then.” The staff have had to divide their duties in order to accommodate all the clients. One of the many alternatives was to set up tables outside the shop.
“Since the shop is quite small we had to separate the primary uniform sale and move them outside while keeping the orders for secondary and post-secondary inside,” explained one of the employees.
The Pel’s boutique which was also selling supplies such as uniforms and uniform belts was also intensely busy. We were given only two minutes with one of the staff who was conducting crowd control at the door. “We’ve been getting customers non-stop since the morning till now with no break,” he said.
As the week progresses, shopkeepers expect the crowd will intensify by Friday.
Photos by Kurtrine Albert
