Category: Press Releases

Black Friday was still exceptional when compared to the rest of the year and sometimes even comparable to last year’s Black Friday

This year was expected to be a tougher year with all the challenges Covid brought with it. Businesses were therefore managing their expectations, however they still worked much harder to secure the best outcome.

Even though initial reactions vary, Black Friday was still exceptional when compared to the rest of the year and sometimes even comparable to last year’s Black Friday.

Starting from the most positive the Home Electronics sector did very well. Businesses reporting levels close to or exceeding Black Friday of last year. Home related businesses also did quite well. Most of the businesses said that people are spending more time at home and therefore home investments have remained strong.

The clothing sector had less positive results however overall they are content with the results so far. Casual clothing did better in this category and most businesses say they reached 50% to 85% of Black Friday of last year. These businesses also expect business to continue picking up today as people can focus more on their purchases after work.

The Elegant and occasion wear unfortunately did not fare well at all. People appear to have little scope in buying occasion wear with the different way in which people will be experiencing the festive season this year due to the Covid restrictions.

Online shopping increased, even dramatically in some cases, this Black Friday. Apart from this, businesses also reported having on the shopfloor additional staff specifically to help manage people and ensure the health guidelines are followed.

An interesting fact is that businesses planned for a larger number of days during which to run their Black Friday offers this year and that is one way in which some businesses will manage to reach their targets compared to last year, on a longer number of days.

In fact, most Black Friday offers do not end today and keep extending over the weekend and sometimes even beyond. Through the SME Chamber’s ‘A Guide to Black Friday’, consumers will be able to see which days the offers will continue to run on and plan their shopping accordingly.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has once again themed up with Business 1^st to bring another edition of ‘The SME Conference’ for the year 2020. The theme of the event this year was ‘Covid 19 & SMEs – Acknowledging, Adapting and Looking Ahead’.

SME Chamber President Mr Paul Abela stated that Covid has been very hard on us all but the news of the vaccine approaching gives us all great hope and businesses should use this time to reinvent themselves and improve on their business. Maltese businesses still have a number of hard months to go through and he called on the Government to guide businesses on areas of investment in line with the country’s economic regeneration strategy. The SME Chamber President emphasised that the banks must be patient and lengthen repayment periods as much as possible to give businesses time to get back on their feet.

Minister Silvio Schembri remarked what a challenge this year has been. In fact, instead of the yearly budget the government has come out with 4 budgets this year. The Minister remarked that the wage supplement has so far reached the Eur 266 M in direct grants to businesses. Hon Schembri remarked in particular that he is encouraged by how businesses he meets discuss their plans for the future of their business and investment needs. The Minister echoed the SME Chamber’s call on banks to participate more in the economy as they are fundamental for economic growth and recovery.

During this conference, 2 of our partners, acquiring.com and Cybergate International also participated during one of our panel discussions about the digital needs of our businesses.

Mr John Pace, Chief Business Development Officer at acquiring.com said that online payment gateways such as acquiring.com are becoming more and more popular, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic started and since transaction fees became more competitive. Mr Pace stated that Covid has made online payments a basic need. Some businesses have already shifted and are continuing to shift and strengthening their online presence and online and electronic payment facilities. Cashless payments present in fact many advantages, yet businesses report an increase in cost on the charges related to card transactions in view of increasing volumes.

Mr Pace explained that their mission is to help businesses to optimise their sales and customer experience through facilitating speedy and seamless payments.

Ing. Kieth Fitzpatrick, Director of Operations and Training at Cybergate International said that the impact of cybercrime is increasing at an alarming level with the absolute majority of businesses having experienced at least one cybersecurity incident. He also mentioned that the majority of SMEs in Malta are not equipped to prevent cybercrime, and therefore Cybergate International is ready to assist. He explained that Cybergate Internatinal is a service provider in cyber security services with over 10 years of experience. Ing. Fitzpatrick said that throughout the years, Cybergate  had the opportunity to work with diverse sectors, including the financial, gaming, banking, insurance, legal, wholesale and retail sectors and with sizes ranging from small to large enterprises.

SME Chamber CEO Abigail Mamo presented the results of the SME Chamber findings carried out during the month of November, based on 300 business respondents. 78% of respondents reported lower levels of turnover compared to 2019, while 10% reported staying the same and 11% reporting an increase. Ms Mamo emphasised that a strong level of uncertainty was expressed throughout the replies from businesses and 38% were concerned that they would not last beyond 12 months if things remained the way they were. In terms of imminent changes that businesses are planning to implement 50% of respondents said that they do not foresee implementing any such changes, 18% of respondents intend to sell and market online and another 18% plan to reduce employees. Another 17% intend to diversify and 13% plan to downsize. 7% of respondents are planning or considering closing down their business.

Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia remarked that the Wage Supplement is due to be revised and announced in the coming days and that this will ensure that help reaches those that need it most. It is planned for the assistance to be based on loss of business, according to the declarations submitted. The new framework will be discussed with the Chamber of SMEs and social partners business representatives. Reacting to the results of the SME Chamber findings, Mr Farrugia also said that the grants to help businesses with the electricity bills are due to be disbursed at the beginning of December and those related to Rental costs will also be disbursed in the weeks following that. The Malta Enterprise CEO also expressed concern that a significant amount of businesses did not highlight their intention to adapting and making necessary changes. He remarked that businesses should not build plans relying on state handouts but should use this time to make use of the tools available to revisit strategies and reinvent themselves in order to avoid exiting the market.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs thanks the different entities that have supported the even in one way or another, including, Malta Enterprise, the Ministry for Economy and Small Business, the Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services and Digital Economy, the Parlaimentary Secretary for EU Funds, the Malta Tourism Authority, Identity Malta, JobsPlus, the Family Business Office, the Measures and Support Division, Acquiring.com and Cybergate International.

“GRTU REBRANDS, MARKING A MILESTONE IN ITS 70 YEAR HISTORY”

The Malta Chamber of SMEs is today unveiling its new name and visual identity. We are positioning the organisation to reflect the modern and contemporary SME representative body it truly is today. Changing its name from the renowned ‘GRTU’ was a necessary step for the organisation to visibly reflect who it represents and how it evolved beyond just retailers and traders to all of Malta’s economic sectors, being micro, small and medium enterprises.

The SME Chamber is the longest standing business representative and has today grown to become the largest by representing SMEs from all economic sectors operating in Malta.  Our services have increased and diversified to cater for the needs of our members and the changing times.

Our new name reflects our wider representation and thanks to EU funding this is being complemented by fresh branding and an outreach strategy that will help spread information about the effectiveness and value of social dialogue.

The President of the Malta Chamber of SMEs, Mr Paul Abela, said that the organisation has been always very vociferous and always spoke freely in the interest of Maltese businesses and the national interest. ‘We have done this irrespective of who is in government because our interest is solely the national interest and as a result that of our members’.

A study undertaken recently with the general public has confirmed how the majority of respondents feel that the organization speaks for the national interest, showing wide appreciation for the important role the organization plays in today’s social, economic and political scenario.

Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO, Abigail Mamo, stated that Malta’s business demographic in terms of diversity of sectors operating in Malta has evolved greatly over the years. The service industry has grown exponentially and many new refined and value adding sectors have entered our economy in recent years and this is reflected in our membership base. ‘With these new sectors joining us we have also developed new services to cater for their needs. Our brand reflects the enterprises we represent and how our own organisation has grown along the years. With our new brand and further service development we are ready to take on the opportunities and challenges facing our members in 2020 and the years to come’.