If you wanna know how far behind we are the developed world, you just gotta think ‘bout that new mall being opened over on the West Coast of Demerara!! Now, when you think of all the effort and money that went into the structure, you’d hope the owners did their market research. But from where your Eyewitness sits, he wonders whether they were told about what’s happening with malls over in the good old US of A – which invented those darned modern temples to conspicuous consumption in the first place!! They’re closing down faster than “touch-me-nots”!!
That’s right. During their prime in the eighties, there were probably more than three thousand malls in “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Like Guyanese discovered with the Giftland Mall, it was a place to which folks gravitated like ants to honey – and spent their money while there like money was going out of style. The latter, of course, is what justified the investment, because just providing hangout spots for the masses ain’t a good business model!! But America’s discovered there’s a whole new and more efficient way of shopping – online!! And retail businesses don’t need brick-and-mortar malls to display their wares.
A whole new industry has opened up to cater to this new way of shopping – and it doesn’t matter whether you’re living in Timbuktu or Mocha!! Once you’ve got a computer – and a credit card – you can let your fingers do the shopping!! Think Amazon and Ali Baba and you’ll get an idea about this new world of merchandising!! Some old fogies still haven’t stumbled onto online shopping – and don’t know that there are companies right here in dear Mudland who can hook up with the online retailers and get the stuff to your door. So you wouldn’t be surprised that, right now, the number of malls in the US has dropped to about five hundred – and dwindling!!
So, what does this mean for our spanking new mall over on the West Side?? Simply that it’s living on borrowed time!! And your Eyewitness hopes that, within that time, the investors will recoup their investment!! Now, while there’s always been planned obsolescence in every business model – until the next one generates more profits!! – the cycle is spinning faster and faster. So, while the Mall Model lasted for a good half century in the States, it probably has a decade to run its course here!!
Unless, of course, we remain underdeveloped as far as making money – even though the Oil Industry is opening up our eyes to the fact that making money on money is better than standing all night and day behind counters!!
…high oil prices
There are some who’re fretting that the high oil prices we’re enjoying ain’t gonna last for long. They’d projected we’d be getting some US$65 per barrel – at best – and are astounded that we’ve been in the eighties for so long. Now, your Eyewitness knows that nothing lasts forever – the way he sees it – we can confidently predict that high oil prices are gonna be around for quite a while. And we should spend our windfall ASAP to develop our country.
Now, why can he be so confident?? Well, for one, the two countries – Russia and Saudi Arabia – that are keeping oil prices high are the lowest-cost producers. In the case of the Saudis, we’re talking about US$2 per barrel!! So, it makes sense for them to cut production, keep supply low and prices high, because they’ll always make money hand over fist!!
The war in Ukraine has also helped – because China and India have sopped up Russian oil that’s heavily discounted – without affecting the high prices!!
…ennui
One PNC supporter has accused Aubrey Norton of planning to violate “the party’s constitution (and) makes one believe that violating the country’s constitution would also be practised.”
In other news, the grass is green and the sky is blue.
