By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), Oct. 3, GNA – Traders in Sunyani have expressed concern about the increasing number of shopping malls in the Bono Regional capital, saying the trend is threatening the survival of their businesses.
The traders, mostly women, said the relatively low prices of goods at the malls were not only pushing some local retailers out of business but also eroding their market share.
A market survey by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that shopping malls, including some Chinese-owned retail outlets, were springing up in parts of the city, intensifying competition for local traders.
Scores of shoppers were seen at some of the major malls, including the newly opened Makro Mall along the Sunyani-Abesim Highway, Red Star Mall at the Sunyani Victory Park and Lemon Mall near the Sunyani-Penkwasi Traffic Light.
The malls sell a range of products, including cooking utensils, electrical gadgets and appliances, clothing, mattresses, furniture, and interior décor items.
Some retailers, particularly those operating within the Sunyani Central Business District (CBD), therefore appealed for measures to ensure that indigenous businesses remained competitive.
Madam Theresah Asantewaa, a shop owner, called on the Government to introduce measures that would create a level playing field for indigenous retailers to compete effectively with the malls, particularly the Chinese-owned outlets.
Madam Mercy Amoah, a clothes dealer, said some goods were being sold at considerably lower prices at the malls than on the local market.
She cited, for instance, a dining table set that sold for about GH¢1,500 on the local market but was being offered for GH¢1,000 at one of the malls. She said cooking utensils priced at about GH¢1,300 on the local market were also being sold for about GH¢800 at the mall.
“I personally visited one of the malls, which had just opened along the Sunyani-Abesim Highway, for window shopping, and I noticed that their prices were too low for us to compete with,” she said.
GNA
Edited by Bertha Badu-Agyei/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
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