Traders and consumers feel the pinch as Christmas draws to a close

PETALING JAYA: Traders and consumers are feeling the pinch with the spirit of Christmas drawing to a close, especially festive revellers shopping for clothes and gifts at shopping malls in Klang Valley in the past two weeks.
To boost the festivities, many malls such as Sunway Putra Mall, Bangsar Village and Paradigm Mall had displayed huge well-decorated Christmas trees and decorated their outlets. Some even had year-end sales which drew a crowd.
Many expatriates when interviewed said they shopped to their hearts content despite the economic challenges.
Frenchman Halim Berbar, 50, an event company CEO, said he preferred spending the holidays locally although there are changes in entrance fees such as at Zoo Negara and Aquaria KLCC.
For some, going online to shop is better and faster when family members are overseas.
Entrepreneurs Hanie Razaif-Bohlender and George Bohlender use online platforms such as Amazon Canada to send gifts to their children in Canada although the exchange rate is expensive.
For George who has been residing here for seven years, Malaysia is a haven where they can live within their budget and communicate with their children via Skype and Facebook.
Izrul H. Zakaria, the Second Cup company operations manager whose outlet is in Sunway Putra Mall, said he has his usual customers walking in besides new ones and his mission is to provide the best service.
Therapeutic oil supplier Nora Saman said the purchase of gifts was less this time around although regular customers still order their skin products.