A NOT SO MERRY CHRISTMAS

Will Inflation steal Christmas?

Londoners and their businesses are about to face a harsh and not so warm Christmas due to the inflation rising at 11% combined with an overall rise of taxes and prices.

Small businesses are particularly affected by the recent crisis. Murat Yildiz,39, owns an off-licence store in Barnet, North London and when asked about the ways the current situation affected him, he said: “the price of stock is higher than it used to, this made us rise the price of the products that we sell. Because of this, clients are fewer than before, even for us life is hard at the moment”.

The trading side is not the only one affected, shop costs are also an issue for Murat:” The landlord has also risen the rent of the shop, because of inflation everything is more expensive: rent, taxes, fuel”.

Asif Gupta, 29, works at Tesco’s, he also noticed the change in costumers caused by the inflation:” Inflation has had an impact in the big retailers like Tesco and Sainsburys, we can see that there are less people shopping in this period, carts are emptier, and people stick to buying products that are essential or on offer”.

When asked about his opinion on how Londoners are going to live this Christmas, Asif Said: “I think that people are going to do their best to enjoy this Christmas, but I also have to say that this year is harder than the previous ones”.