THE country’s on the rack wholesale and retail trade is not expecting brisk business this festive season.
This comes amid a very challenging operating environment that is characterised by currency volatility, crippling power cuts, falling disposable incomes, liquidity crunch and a rampaging informal sector, among other issues.
Experts who spoke to The Financial Gazette — the country’s number one business publication and prime voice for industry and commerce — said this week that while the festive season usually came with a sense of cheer and heightened consumer activity, the mood this year would be subdued.