Meena’s employees Juliana Nekaifes, left, and Rina Manabat.
JULIANA Nekaifes said for the last 18 years she has supported her family with the income she earned at Meena’s, which for around 40 years had sold apparel in Chalan Kanoa.
Nekaifes, a cashier and sales clerk for the business, will now separate from her longtime place of employment when it shutters its doors for good today, Monday, July 24.
“I feel sad because it’s going to close. [Meena’s] has been [operating] a long time,” Nekaifes said.
According to Rina Manabat, a fellow cashier and sales clerk, the Covid-19 pandemic is to blame.
“Since the pandemic it was getting slower and slower so the boss decided to close down,” Manabat said.
She said the clothing store operated for two hours a day at one point during the pandemic. Although Meena’s did its best to make a profit post-Covid, the business just couldn’t make up for losses it had incurred, Manabat said.
“We had some [sales] but not enough,” she added.
Meena’s owner Vasi Hemlani had decided to sell clothing for as low as a few cents each just to get the products to move quickly.
Manabat said the remaining items were marked for “buy one, get one” sales. Meena’s operated from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Any clothes that did not get sold will be donated to charity if they are in good condition or thrown away if they are not, Manabat said.
“The longtime customers are sad,” she added. “They said, ‘Where are we going to look for clothes? Since we were young this was our store.’”
Manabat and Nekaifes plan to search for jobs after Meena’s closes. But for Nekaifes, it’s not easy to leave. She said Hemlani is an excellent employer.
Our boss has been very kind to us,” Nekaifes said. “If you find a good boss like him, stick with him.”
