Muhid Hasan :
As Ramzan reaches its last phases and Eid-ul-Fitr around ten days away, like other parts of the country, the Dhaka city’s shopping malls registered a higher customer turnout with significant response from buyers of different ages.
Service holders are started receiving their salaries and Eid bonuses from employers along with remittances sent by expatriates help local economy to boom ahead of the biggest Muslim festival Eid-ul-Fitr later this month.
Despite having a significant inflationary pressure on country’s economy, businesses and market experts predicting that more than Tk 200,000 crore will be transacted countrywide on shopping this year.
Thousands of customers are flocking in most of the shopping malls and clothing markets in Dhaka city including New Market, Dhanmondi Hawkers’ Market, Gawsia, Gulistan markets and roadside vendors to buy clothes, footwear, other fashion items ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.
Furthermore, Pahela Baishakh, and Chaitra Sankranti are around the corner which additionally pulled buyers into the markets to buy these festival related products.
Visiting the popular shopping malls and markets, it is seen Eid sales are started picking up steam and most of the shopping outlets were crowded with people from all walks of life.
Shoel Ahmed, Manager of a shop of children cloths Attire Fission, in Globe market said to the New Nation that this year things are bit different due to the high price of products. In first few days of Ramzan we saw no rush of customers except Fridays and Saturdays.
”In last five days customers are coming and sales being gone up. Like others, I am also looking for successful Eid season which is merely lost from the pandemic.” he added.
Mohammad Enam, owner of a Saari House at Gausia Market, said that higher dollar prices and problems in opening letters of credit are some of the reasons behind this price hike as the apparel sector is very much dependent on imports.
Mohammad Enam still expecting after observing turnout in last five or six days, his sales will grow much better in the coming days and will contribute to recover business which seriously downturned since pandemic and onwards.
“We can roughly estimate a 30 per cent decline in sales than that of the previous year. However, I am hopeful that the number of customers will increase in the coming days”, Mohammad Salim manager of a fashion outlet expressed.
Imran Gazi, a college teacher , to the Gausia Market with his wife and five-year old daughter, said, ‘Prices are about 40 per cent higher compared with that of last year.’
Showing a panjabi he bought at Tk 2,000, Rafi Rahman said that, the same quality dress was sold at Tk1200-1250 last year.
With little exception, Nobin Fasion , an old Dhaka based Panjabi retail house offering Panjabi for all ages with remarkably affordable prices , range from Tk 300-1500 per unit. Saiful Islam, General Manager of Nobin Fashion told the New Nation, “our aim to cover a wide range of people of all income groups and ages. Our product quality is up to the mark comparing to the prices we charged”.
With 15 outlets all around the Dhaka city, we are selling our Panjabi targeting to achieve customer’s satisfaction from different income groups and ages, he added.