The Giftland Mall is recovering well from the impact of COVID-19.
Chairman of the Giftland Group Roy Beepat told members of the media on Friday evening at a Christmas tree light up event at the mall that the recovery since reopening has been tremendous so far. He added that those persons who have not visited the mall recently have missed out and that the mall has seen record sales since reopening fully.
Beepat noted that during the lockdown period when the business had to be closed, they faced challenges and were affected by having their staff on the breadline. “We did as much as we could to keep as many employed and we’re very happy to be able to bring all our staff back on,” he reported.
As the company recovers even as the global pandemic is still ongoing, Beepat said that they decided to bring some Christmas cheer by decorating the mall and even having the trees leading to the mall lit up. Members of the media were told that the hope is that the light-up will become an annual event that hopefully will become larger in the coming years.
“At the Giftland mall we’ve been going all out to give you that Christmas feeling, that Christmas spirit, because this has been a terrible year, it’s been a really, really, hard year in terms of our personal suffering, being cooped up and locked up with COVID, some of us have lost loved ones and the Giftland Group has made a dedicated effort to try and spread cheer and joy for this Christmas period.” Beepat declared.
The chairman also expressed his pleasure with the recovery so far and expects business to pick up during the holiday season. He told members of the media that more exciting news should be expected soon as the company is hoping to announce plans for a new Radisson Hotel.
Also present at the event was Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Samaroo Ramtahal, who stated that GPL is pleased to be working with the Giftland group to add power to GPL’s grid. “Over the last three months or so we were trying to work with him to connect to the GPL grid so we currently have an arrangement with him to sell power back to the grid,” Ramtahal disclosed.
The DCEO added that GPL is buying at a fairly low cost relative to their average mix of generation costs at GPL. Ramtahal advised that as the Christmas season approaches, persons should ensure that the wiring in their homes is capable of safely handling the extra lighting for the season. He also advised that persons should have an electrician inspect their homes before adding Christmas lights.
