Home alone hubbies

With the closure of schools it now appears that wives, with their brood in tow, are taking flight to cooler climes like migratory birds.

And it is at this time of year that the stay-at-work-and-home husbands become born-again ‘bachelors’.
But whether our big boys are moaning about the impending laundry that tends to pile up or looking forward to a small dose of ‘freedom’ once again … the challenge of being organised and efficient around the house is the key to having a successful home-alone experience.
This is probably a good time to stock up on those take-away menu flyers that are available in every grocery store and food court. Restaurants all over the island do brisk business and report an increase in take-away orders and home deliveries. Al Osra Supermarket in Budaiya runs a ‘Home Alone’ campaign until the end of August.
“Ready Meals are the highlight of the campaign and we offer our customers more variety in meals, better prices with attractive packaging and place these items at convenient locations within the store so that people on-the-go don’t have to search the aisles for them.
“Some of our best-sellers are pies, lasagnes and whole chicken. We also notice a dramatic increase in sales at our roastery for items like grilled chicken and cold meats,” says Jaffar Al Asfoor, marketing manager at Al Osra Supermarket, pictured right.
Karim Jawad of Jawad Group, that successfully runs Jawad supermarkets, added: “Five years ago we actually saw a marked decrease in sales during our summer months which picked up after the families returned. Since then, there has been no marked difference in sales but summer is usually quieter although there is a slight increase in our fresh ready-meals section.”
The management at Jawad Supermarkets take the lull in summer as an opportunity to plan for the ‘Back-to-School’ and ‘Ramadan’ campaigns that are aimed at residents as soon as they return to Bahrain.
The merchandising manager, Raju Sawlani at Fucom International that owns Geant, Le Marche and Last Chance reports a similar trend. “Sales slow down during July and August because a large percentage of people leave for either all or part of the summer.
“We don’t have any special promotions for single men because according to our experience they normally eat out,” he says.
So whether you are planning your summer soirees with your buddies or rummaging through your laundry baskets for a clean pair of socks, remember … just don’t burn the house down!

By Asma Salman
asma.salman@gulfweekly.com