by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Tens of people were standing in lines waiting to buy their favorite brands in the shopping streets and malls in Beirut, capital of Lebanon.

Nada Ayan, a young lady who works at a renowned bank in Hamra Street, stood for hours outside her favorite shops in the area, waiting for her turn to buy a few products at discounted price.

"I need some clothes and other items so I thought I'd take advantage of the big unusual sales offered at this time of the year," Ayan told Xinhua.

Another customer, Ahlam Harb, waited before a baby clothes shop while carrying her one-year-old child.

"This may be my only opportunity to buy affordable clothes for my kid," she told Xinhua.

Ali Ismail told Xinhua he waited for two days in a row to be able to enter his favorite shop to buy some pairs of jeans before it shuts down.

"I will have to travel to other country to buy my favorite brands unfortunately," he said.

Lebanon has rarely seen such big reduction in prices at this time of the year. The sales season usually begins in January in the country. Some of the famous international brands are leaving Lebanon given the dire economic situation in the country.

"We are in the middle of a very big crisis with several sectors including restaurants, clothes, house appliances, and luxury items being the most affected by the economic collapse," Yahya Kassaa, president at the Lebanese Franchise Association (LFA), told Xinhua.

"There are brands that have opened in Lebanon since 2005 and 2006 but they decided to leave for the time being despite the big investment they made in the country," Kassaa said.

Around 95 percent of shops in Beirut's Downtown, once bustling with shoppers, have closed following the explosions that rocked Beirut on Aug. 4, destroying a big part of the city.

Meanwhile, a big number of shops have closed in Hamra, one of the most popular shopping streets in the country.

Kassaa attributed the large-scale closure to the steep drop in citizens' purchasing power following the increase in the price of the U.S. dollar to the Lebanese pound.

Kassaa explained that franchisees usually establish special systems in their country of business which is a central system that allows them to return to the country even if they close branches and brands temporarily.

"I am happy that we still have, at least, the systems in place in hope to be able to attract these brands to Lebanon again," he said.

A recent study by LFA reported that the franchising sector employs nearly 100,000 employees, or an estimated nine percent of total workers in the country.

However, Lebanon's current economic crisis and restrictions imposed after the spread of COVID-19 have affected the franchising sector, especially in the hospitality and retail sectors. Enditem

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