By Jessica Lim

AFRAID that the alternative to pre-Christmas discounts is silence at the tills, the owner of a neighbourhood shoe shop is offering festive discounts for the first time.

Shoes at his two stores in Pasir Ris and Yishun are now selling at 50 per cent less.

A pair of Dr Marcoss brand of men's leather work shoes from Hong Kong, for example, costs $39.90, down from $79.90 three months ago, and a pair of Rochelle brand women's closed-toe heels is now going for $23.90, down from $49.90.

'We want to offset our losses,' said owner Jeffrey Kam, 44. He said his business has dropped by about 30 per cent in the past three months.

He believed that business would have fallen by up to 50 per cent if not for the discounts propping sales up. Since the discounts began, the number of daily customers at his two stores has increased to about 80, from around 50 customers earlier.

'It is a kind of panic selling...We need to maintain sales; that is my top priority,' he said. Mr Kam started slashing prices in late September.

'Now we are just about breaking even.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 24, 2008.

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