Good crowd, but no sign of good shopping yet
The city shopping malls are teeming with crowds but most shoppers are yet to start buying. Photo: STAR
Shoppers swarmed the city's shopping malls on Friday, the third weekend in Ramadan, but their Eid shopping spree is yet to pick up pace.
People now mostly spend time window-shopping -- browsing and checking out possible buys while waiting for the Eid bonus expected to be disbursed from this week.
Storeowners on the other hand fear a dry festival season this year as price hike of the essential goods has added extra pressure on people's budget.
“This Friday we had a good crowd, however the sale was not as good as we expected,” said one of the salesmen at a readymade garment store at Bashundhara City.
“People are browsing a lot. They are checking out the expensive items but in the end they are buying the cheaper ones,” he added.
Another seller at Chadni Chawk market said, “The price hike of essential commodities has an impact on the prices of clothing. It is already mid Ramadan. Average sale is half of what we sold this time last Ramadan,” he added.
At Rifles Square market, a storeowner said, “As usual we have prepared for Eid with a huge collection including many brand items. Eid is our best season. But we have doubts about the sale this year. We are afraid that we will not be able to sell the entire lot.”
Most of the sellers said customers are buying only children's wear. The customers echo them. “We are giving preference to children, holding back from shopping for ourselves,” said Shiuly Begum, a shopper at Bashundhara City market.
“Everything is pricier than in last year. May be after getting the Eid bonus we will think of shopping for others,” she added.
Another shopper said, “Usually every year we present gifts to relatives. This year it will not be possible.”
Meanwhile, foreign goods, mostly Indian items in georgette and chiffon are dominating the sale in shopping malls, especially in women's wear segment in the city's main shopping zones -- New Market, Chadni Chawk, Gausia, Hawkers' Market, Bashundhara city, Rifles Square, Rapa Plaza, Eastern Plaza, Shoppers World or Almas.
Popular Bolywood soap operas have a direct influence on women's line-up in most shopping centres. Several new designs such as Gypsy, Anarkali, Mughul-e-Azam, embellished with golden thread (jari), sequins, bids and stones are becoming the latest crush of many young women this year.
Floral pattern is the most popular motif in women's clothing. Cotton with hand stitches is the chosen style for men's panjabi. Popular boy's outfits have cartoon characters on them. Boys in their late teens prefer trendy casuals in jeans and t-shirts with frayed collars in bright colours.
In various fashion houses of the city, cotton and handmade local items are also attracting customers. Their Eid line-up is mostly decorated with hand embroidery, block print, hand paint, patchwork and screen-print on handmade fabrics made in Narsingdi, Sirajganj, Tangail and Comilla.
In the last few years Dhaka city saw a mushrooming development in fashion houses. These designer shops played a major role in reviving the handmade local products. A major fraction of the city customers are opting for these products this Eid.
Meanwhile, hawkers are back in business on the footpaths of Dhaka after their eviction in mid-January and they seem happy.
“This year's specialty is we are enjoying a toll-free business opportunity,” said Imam Hossain, a hawker beside the Baitul Mukarram national mosque. Around one-lakh professional street vendors and thousands more seasonal hawkers have set up their makeshift trade centre at 18 points alongside the 10 holiday markets in the city.
“People mostly buy from us on their way to someplace. This is the best part of our business because in every split second someone walks through the footpath of Dhaka and many of them become our customer,” added Imam.
“We have experienced huge loss and regular harassment during the past few months. We are just happy to be back in business,” said Romjan Ali, another hawker from Farmgate.
Many hawkers, however, said that thousands of people displaced by floods joined their trade in recent times increasing the competition. “Sometimes we have more hawkers than customers,” said Romjan.
The 18 places where the hawkers are now allowed to sit every day are Gulistan, Baitul Mukarram, Doel Chattar, Farmgate, New Market, Jurain, Postogola, Jatrabari, Motijheel, Mohakhali, Amtoli, Mirpur Stadium, Mirpur-1 Shah Ali Mazar area, Gabtoli, Mirpur Rokeya Sarani, Gulshan-1 and Uttara Rajuk playground.
Among these places Gulistan, Baitul Mukarram, Mouchak, New Market-Gaushia, New Elephant Road, in front of Bashundhara City Farmgate, Mirpur 1 and 10 are the busiest. Hawkers sitting near the New Market-Gaushia shopping zone are the most popular.
City has also turned into a carnival for the weavers with several handloom fairs going on in many places in the city, displaying a wide range of handloom products. After the floods these fairs are helping the weavers to overcome the losses, said the organisers.
Bangladesh Jamdani Manufacturers and Exporters Association is holding a month-long Jamdani fair at Shilpakala Academy in Shegun Bagicha. The fair has around 200 stalls.
Another month-long handloom fair with 130 stalls began on September 18 at city's T&T ground at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh and SME Foundation organised the Tant and Shilpa Mela 2007.
Three other fairs will begin soon at Karwan Bazar, Shyamoli and Kalabagan.
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