Crimped by the weakening of ringgit and the dramatic plunge in crude oil prices, local businesses are bracing for a tough Chinese New Year (CNY) season.

To cope with the economic slowdown, most businesses employ a “small profits, quick turnover” strategy to ramp up their CNY sales ahead of the Feb 19-20 festivities.

This is done by slashing prices, resulting in lower profit margin but bolstered by high volume sales...