Shopping centres bustle with Eid customers

People of middle and lower middle-income groups on Saturday continued to crowd different shopping centres of the city like Gawsia and Chandi Chalk to purchase their desired Eid wears, shoes, ornaments etc at affordable prices.

Traders said mostly middle-income people are fond of traditional markets like Mouchak, Gawsia , Chandi Chalk, Twin Tower, Rapa Plaza, Karnaphuli Garden city, Tropical Razia, Eastern Mollica, Fortune shopping mall and Dhanmondi hawkers' market considering lower prices of different products of their choice there.

Besides, they claimed, shop owners of the shopping malls charge extra money on every product because of their luxury shopping environment.

They said most of the middle-income people go for medium-priced products and these markets supply those. Customers can purchase a party dress for women at prices up to Tk 5,000.

Shahnaj Begum from the city's Mailbagh area said she went to the New Market as prices of different products there are within reach of the middle income group.

She bought a dress for her daughter at Tk 2,700 and a shirt and a pant for her teenage son at Tk 2,000. But the prices were more than those of last year, she added.

The middle-class shoppers also visit the lavish shopping malls like Bashundhara City Shopping Mall. But many of them went back home out of frustration as they could not buy products of their choice within their budget.

While visiting different shopping spots on Saturday, this correspondent observed people moving around, purchasing wears and other gift items for their near and dear ones for celebrating the largest religious festival of the Muslims.

The shop owners said like last year, fashion and boutique houses have brought long kamiz, frock-cutting kamiz and saris with various eye-catching designs and colours for women.

They displayed Ganga, Rivva and Om Tex, Vipul, Delhi Boutique, Zinam, the Indian-brand shalwar-kamiz sets, which have some changes in design and colour this year.

The traders said their sales went up more than those of last year following favourable political environment.

A salesman of Shillong, a shalwar kamiz shop at the New Market, said his sales now are better than those of last year. The sales increased by nearly 50 per cent this year.

He sells Pakistani, Indian and Kashmiri dresses and cloths at Tk 3,000 to Tk 12,500 each.

The salesman also said sales of the unstitched shalwar kamiz will continue till 25th of Ramadan as the number of tailors has increased nowadays.

The shop owner of Moushumi Fashion at the Gawsia market said his sales have increased by at least 30 per cent. He sells Indian women's wears at Tk 1,200 to Tk 12,500 each.

Aman's Fashion at the Mejbah Uddin Plaza at the city's Malibagh area said his sales went up last Friday and on Saturday he also got a significant number of customers. "In the middle of Ramadan, I will get more customers," he hoped.  

But some businesses at Mouchak, Gawsia markets and Dhanmondi hawkers' market said their sales are not good. Moreover, the sales dropped compared to those of last year.

The traders of the Dhanmondi hawkers market expressed frustration saying they are not getting their targeted customers.

Khorshed Alam, a member of Dhanmondi Hawkers Market Dokan Malik Samity said the overall sales of the market are not good.

He felt the shoppers are facing cash crunch to buy their desired products.

The association member said women of the middle- income group come to the market because of affordable prices of the products. But this year, they are not getting customers.

Billal Hossain, a salesman of RM Fashion at New Super Market said his sales have not increased yet. But he hoped it can rise in the middle of Ramadan.

He sells Panjabi on Addi, cotton, Jamdani and silk fabrics at Tk 500 to Tk 1,500 while shirts at Tk 750 to Tk 950 each.

Jamal, a salesman at Cloth Museum at New Market said the sales are normal at his shop like last year.

On the other hand, maximum number of shop owners agreed over price hike, saying there has been an increase of at least Tk 200 per item.