00:00Vendors of school supplies are hoping still to ramp up this coming week, as activity has been markedly slow in
00:07the capital city, ahead of the reopening of school, even for essentials such as school shoes.
00:14It's not as was in years gone by. You've seen customers, but everything is at play. People are looking for
00:22price, durability, everything this year.
00:26They are not like years gone by. We would have seen people coming a bit earlier and purchase merchandise for
00:33back to school.
00:35This year, the pricing, they're coming back at the end of the month. And this year is unique. There's an
00:42extra week in the month of September.
00:45So we expect our influx of people coming into this month here, into the first week of September. And we
00:51hope that we do well at that point.
00:54Vests, underwear and socks are also selling slowly on the streets.
00:59Things are kind of slow, but coming one by one.
01:04Kind of slow?
01:05Yeah.
01:06Like compared to previous year?
01:09Well, for the longest while now sale gets slow. Not like long ago, when you come out and sell like
01:16that 20,000 and like for your arm carnival is about 25,000. You don't ever get that again. Things
01:24cut down. And the price rises right here.
01:28Broadside book vendors are also reporting a drop in sales this year.
01:32The last year was way better than this year. This year kind of slow, but it kind of hard at
01:39the same time now. So most people buy used books than brownie books because any bookstore, it is expensive. Some
01:47people ask for used books.
02:04It's a narrative echoed by the manager of Unique Bookstore's downtown Port of Spain branch.
02:12Actually, this year we have received a lot, lot, much more vouchers. A lot of customers are coming with vouchers
02:19that they got from different companies and different, I guess, government or whatever. But a lot of vouchers, yeah.
02:29Some, some, some, yeah. But mostly, I think it's the government. Yeah. Yeah. Got the certain arms of the government
02:38doing vouchers.
02:39And that's how the sales have been going this season.
02:41Um, compared to last year, more or less the same run as last year. The sales, it didn't increase, but
02:48it remained steady as last year.
02:50Uh, it was, no, no. It started the beginning of the month, but a steady flow right through. No big
02:56to say, no big rush to anything. That's a steady flow right through.
03:00Meantime, one parent is thanking Tunapuna MP, Roger Alexander, for making it possible for her to get some of her
03:07kids' school supplies this year.
03:09My contract wasn't renewed. Right. So, I was home, looking for something, didn't get anything, looking for a job online,
03:17didn't get anything. And, um, yeah. So, I'm in this situation right now. Really hard. I had to reach out
03:23for assistance from my MP, um, Roger Alexander. Yes. And, um, he assists me with getting some stationaries and other
03:31things. Yes.
03:32Oh, you got a voucher. Yes, I got a voucher. Yes. By chance, have you applied for a book brand
03:37this year? Yes, I did. What's he saying? Still waiting. Still in process. Yes. When you opened it, did anybody
03:43contact with you or any? Nobody didn't contact me.
03:46But there are those who are fortunate to get whatever they like. And spray ground is still trending in 2026.
03:54Hey, mommy told you, you can get the bag and they'll do well or something and they did well, tell
03:58us.
03:58She don't normally say those things. So, we had to just get what I was.
04:02Oh, you're a spoiled child. Yes.
04:05Yeah. Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
