Wednesday, January 09, 2008 Street vendors report high gains during holidays, Sinulog festival By Malou M. Mozo Sun.Star Staff Reporter
IMPORTED sarongs, shoes from Baclaran, printed t-shirts and native items are among the items that locals and tourists can buy from stalls lining a portion of Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City during the Sinulog.
Since the Christmas holidays and especially during the Sinulog Festival, the sidewalk fronting the Abellana National High School along Osmeña Blvd. is filled with more than 60 vendors selling various merchandise that are either sourced locally or abroad.
In an interview with Sun. Star Cebu, some of these vendors said business has been “favorably blessed” during the Sinulog celebration with more than 1,000 customers visiting the area every day.
Joseph Larrazabal has been participating in the street fair, which opens sometime in December until after the Sinulog festivities, for the last 10 years selling garments, native products, delicacies, bags and accessories, among others.
Earnings
“Taon-taon tumataas ang kita namin every December lalo na kapag Sinulog,” he said. (Every year our earnings increase, especially during the Sinulog.)
He said his business remains profitable despite increasing freight and rental costs as his stall earns an average of P5,000 a day.
Larrazabal said handicraft items from Bicol, strawberry jam and brooms from Baguio are among the popular items at his stall.
More buyers come as the Sinulog celebration begins, he said.
Merchandise from China like toys, garments and house ware were popular gift items during Christmas, he said.
Abdul Sultan, who owns Stall 16 selling batik (tie-dyed) clothes, like malong, sarongs and house dresses, said the items are “must-haves” every Sinulog because of their bright colors and light fabric.
“In demand gyud ni ang mga batik basta Sinulog. Ang uban mamalit daan para pang-summer,” Sultan said.
Sultan’s batik clothings are sourced from Indonesia and Thailand and are priced between P130 and P350 per piece.
Competition
He said other than local residents, foreigners like Koreans, Japanese and Americans also frequent his stall.
While he is aware that there are 10 other stalls in the area selling similar items, he views competition as “healthy” for the business which is why he has been joining the street fair every Sinulog in the last seven years.
Sultan said the annual celebration once earned for him P600,000 in net sales for the two-month fair.
Like Larrazabal, Sultan has been setting up his stall in every major festival in the country like the Ati-Atihan (Aklan), Maskara (Bacolod) and Flower (festival in Baguio), among others.
“Pero walay makalupig sa halin sa Sinulog diri sa Cebu,” he said.
Camama H-nor, owner of Stall 12 and 55, echoed Sultan, saying he is optimistic about the Cebu market as people tend to spend more between Christmas and Sinulog.
“Basta Sinulog, hindi kami nalulugi,” H-nor said, adding that his net sales per day averages between P3,500 and P5,000.
In both his stalls, H-nor sells China-made garments and shoes from Baclaran whose prices range from P450 to P1,200.
