10-50% discount on products in “ Made in Syria” Festival in Damascus 

Some 75 national industrial companies are offering 10-50% discount plus symbolic gifts for customers, who are buying products during the seven-day “Made in Syria” festival which kicked off in February, 2, 2023 at Al-Jalaa Sports Hall in Damascus.

The  festival opens its doors from 12:00 noon to 9:00 pm to receive the largest possible numbers of people, who are interested in buying canned food, clothes, detergents, rice, pasta, coffee, tea….etc  at prices lower than the selling prices in local markets.

Syria Times conducted interviews with several participants in the activity to talk about the importance of this event in the light of current circumstances the country are going through.

Mr. Baker Al-Hayek from Al-Hamwi Coffee pavilion said : “We offer 10-20% discount besides symbolic gifts to visitors, who buy our product. We invite customers to visit the festival to get acquainted with  our products and their real selling prices.”

He sees that there is no difference between the current session of the festival No.140 and the previous ones in terms of turnout despite the fact that purchasing  power has sharply dropped.

For his part, Mr. Samer Qenbarji from the Syrian Industrial Chemical Company told us : “We market laundry detergents of the brands: Prince, Super White and Rich. Our new brand is Rich and its price is affordable during the current economic condition and its quality is good. We sell our products in this event  at cost price, without profits, and we attach small package containing additional quantity of the detergent.“

Some participating companies consider the festival as an opportunity for  low-income families to get benefit from discounts to buy what they need.

“We sell our products directly to customers here and we offer 40-50 % discount…..We also offer 70-80% discount for one hour daily. For example, we sell the medium size canned Mortadella at 6750 Syrian Pounds, while its selling price in markets is 8200SYP,” Mr. Zolfaqqar Suleiman from Mortadella Ziena Company said.

He added : “We are doing our utmost to help customers to save money when they buy our products from the festival…. Despite the current circumstances the country is going through, Syrian companies are still able to offer discounts and a free taste….Our main goal is to achieve prosperity for our country.”

At the Damascene Orientals House pavilion, which displays table cloths, rugs and embroideries, we interviewed Mr. Ammar Melli, who said: “Showing various products and several brands in the festival creates competition among the participating companies to attract customers…. The activity is important and it could be more effective, if it lasts for 15 days.. As you know some people earn their salaries after the 10th or 15th of every month, so they will miss the discount opportunity in this festival, which will conclude on February, 8.”

Most people visit this shopping festival after 5:00 pm as they leave their workplaces at 3:00 pm or 5:00 pm, according to the participating companies.

A 55- year- old woman, who was among the visitors told us: “I am here for Shofing [Which means to see the products without buying them in Syrian slang- window shopping].” While her friend said : “ Some offers are good and I always do my shopping during such festivals.”

reported by: Basma Qaddoour