Business sales pick up as fiscal year closes
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 05/01) - Most stores in Nunavut report high sales near in March.
"Printers are the big hit right now," said Sam Tutanuak, the manager of Tittaq Office Products in Rankin Inlet.
"Everybody wants a printer and they want it before the end of the fiscal year," he said.
Tutanuak said government, birthright and private organizations are all spending money to justify the amount they've requested for the next fiscal period.
They turn to him for help, which is something he both likes and dislikes.
"As a taxpayer, I think it's a crock, but as a businessperson, it helps me and helps my business grow," he said.
Cambridge Bay's Steven Palechek sees the same thing in the aisles at Kitikmeot Supplies.
"Definitely," said Palechek, employed at the business for the last five years. "They have their year end to deal with and they spend accordingly," he said.
"Our business picks up in those last two weeks of March and we try to help people out any way we can."
The same is true for Jeff Wood, the owner of Iqaluit's Tech X Services, a Pitney Bowes' dealer.
"I didn't have much at Christmas. There wasn't much money coming in. This is my Christmas bonus," said Wood, of the dramatic jump in facsimile sales and service calls.
But not everyone reports higher than usual sales this time of year.
"I don't see people coming in and saying, 'I have to spend this money,'" says Lynn Woodhouse, a 12-year veteran of office supplies in Iqaluit.
