Businesses seeing brisk sales

From home appliances to grocery items, school supplies, cars, and restaurants, local businesses are seeing brisk sales the past two weeks with the release into the local economy of more than $20 million representing interest payments on withdrawn defined benefit plan contributions and restoration of retirees’ 25-percent pension.

This amount is a portion of the $30 million two-year advance license fee that Saipan casino resort developer Best Sunshine International Ltd. paid the CNMI government.

Nick Jesse Sablan, 4, comfortably sits on a shopping cart while his brother Sidney John Sablan, 11, checks out shelf items, along with their mother, at the National Office Supply along Beach Road yesterday for back-to-school shopping. Businesses have seen sales increase during the past two weeks after the release of more than $20 million in retirees’ 25-percent pension and interest payment on withdrawn defined benefit plan contributions. (Haidee V. Eugenio)

Tagabuel was one of those who received their DB interest payment checks last week, after contributing to the NMI Retirement Fund’s DB plan for 17 years before he and others had to withdraw these contributions last year.

Alice Legaspi, spokesperson for National Office Supply, said they’re glad to see a spike in customer traffic during this back-to-school shopping season, thanks to the release of retirement and DB interest payments.

“People have more buying power. People have additional resources, on top of their regular salary. And that’s added money circulating in our economy. We are happy to be a part of the added business brought by these payments. We hope this will continue as the economy improves,” Legaspi said, adding that National Office Supply offers a 30-percent discount on back-to-school and office supplies until Sept. 14.

Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson said they released over $10 million in DB interest payments for some 1,730 individuals on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota on Friday.

This was on top of some $11.9 million in retirees’ 25-percent pension payments released two weeks ago.

“I look forward to increased business gross revenue next month or so,” Larson said, owing to the released funds now circulating locally.

Jay Santos, general manager for Triple J Five Star Wholesale Foods and Triple J Truckload Store that buys directly from Kmart Guam, said yesterday they have seen sales increases for big-ticket items such as refrigerators and television sets the past two weekends, owing to the release of retirement and DB interest payments.

“It’s nice to see people spending their money on things they need at home,” Santos said. He added that based on information from other businesses, even car sales have been on the upswing.

Joeten Ace Hardware in Susupe is also feeling the positive impact of recent government payments to retirees and current government employees.

“Those payments really helped. We have seen increased sales of appliances and outdoor equipment such as bush cutters and lawn mowers,” Joeten Ace Hardware supervisor Gloria Pagarao said.

A representative of 99 Cents Supermarket in Garapan said yesterday that they have been seeing a busier than normal grocery shopping in the past two weeks.

“We believe it’s because of the retirement checks. We’re always busy but now we’ve been busier,” she said, adding that some store shelves have been running low on supplies including those containing “snack” foods.

Acting governor Jude U. Hofschneider, meanwhile, said he hopes that those who received their nine-month 25-percent pension and DB interest payments would spend their money “wisely” or put them in savings or some other forms of pension plan for future use.

Restaurants and clothing stores also got busier than usual during the past two weekends right after the release of the two types of checks. Some poker parlors’ parking spaces were also filled with cars.

But even without the release of DB interest and pension payments, some businesses see good sales this time of the year because public schools open this week.

“We’re here to buy school supplies for seven kids—school bags, ball pens, almost everything,” said Takie Muty, 47.

She said she used her Social Security Income check for their back-to-school shopping, including those for her children attending Kagman High School, Tanapag Elementary School, and GTC Elementary School.

Rolando Faustino, 37, said they used gift certificates totaling $50 to buy school supplies at National Office Supply yesterday, for his two school-aged children—a second grader and one in kindergarten.

“Good thing we have these gift certificates. We got to buy school supplies for our children,” he added.