GEORGE TOWN: It’s “spring cleaning” time for retailers, now that the celebrations for the Year of the Snake are over.
No food items stocked for Chinese New Year went to waste at stores and supermarkets as they were returned to suppliers or sold at a discount.
Even perishable food like mandarin oranges were returned to suppliers.
“These oranges, which are among the most popular items during the festive season, were all sent back to suppliers,” said Gama Supermarket and Departmental Store assistant general manager Neoh Kean Bin.
He explained that mandarin oranges had arrived at the store in separate batches so that they could monitor the sales and adjust the orders accordingly.
“We do not accept them all in a single shipment,” he said.
Neoh said the supermarket had built a loyal customer base over the years, which meant that the management could gauge the demand and purchasing trends.
“Our past sales figures also serve as a guide in determining the right number of orders for each festive season,” he said.
Neoh said the supermarket would not stock items, especially fresh fruits, all at once.
“Instead, we arrange for multiple deliveries to ensure freshness and prevent excess stock.
“So far, we have sold all our Chinese New Year stock, with the remaining items returned to suppliers,” he said.
Neoh said the supermarket had an agreement with suppliers to either offer further discounts or receive rebates for items that could not be returned.
Established in 1967, Gama is the oldest department store in Penang.
Meanwhile, Mydin Malaysia executive director (northern) Azmin Saduruddin confirmed that all food stocked for Chinese New Year at Mydin supermarkets had either been returned to suppliers or sold at reduced prices.
“We have marked down prices to clear out non-returnable Chinese New Year stock at Sam’s Groceria,” he said.
Sam’s Groceria is a premium supermarket chain under Mydin Malaysia.
“The discounts ranged from 20% to 30%. Some were reduced to cost or even lower than that,” Azmin said, adding that most products are returnable at Mydin supermarkets.
“We would place orders based on demand and previous years’ sales data,” he said.
Checks at some stores here found that their Chinese New Year stock had been cleared to make way for Hari Raya.
However, some street vendors are still selling mandarin oranges.
“We remove the oranges from the cartons and sell them loose at RM10 per kg.
“Even though the festival is over, loose oranges are priced higher than those sold in cartons,” said a trader at Lebuh Campbell who declined to be named.
He said the initial batch of oranges was not fully ripe when it arrived earlier this year.
“As such, the later batch of oranges, which is now being sold, is sweeter,” he added.
