Year of the bargain

“The dropping numbers of tourists, the decline in the country’s financial inflows and the plunging consumer confidence have placed the Lebanese fashion retailers in a critical situation,” says Jamal Rayess, general manager of Hamra Shopping and Trading Company. “Confronted with these challenges, we were compelled as usual to think outside the box and improvise ways to counter the rising difficulties.” With these words, Rayess effectively summed up the state of retail in Lebanon in 2012. Fewer tourists to buy The third quarter of the year, the peak of the summer season, was when the retail sector was hit the hardest with the significant decrease in tourist numbers, following Arab countries warning their citizens not to visit Lebanon. This was evident first by the deep drop in the percentages of visitors reclaiming their value-added tax upon their departure from Lebanon, as the numbers from Global Blue indicate. Also, the latest numbers