City dwellers\\\' shopping spree gets impetus

Most of the important malls and shopping centres witnessed large crowd Friday, as the city dwellers thronged those on the weekend while many of them will start leaving for their village homes by next week.
Prominent markets and shopping zones, like - Bashundhara, New Market, Gawsia, Elephant Road, Twin Tower, Mouchak, Bailey Road and Masoct Plaza, experienced huge rush since the morning.
But thin or moderate turnout of customers was observed at different markets of the capital, which are comparatively less popular.
Mr Tonmoy, a shopper, walked all along from Green Road to New Market because of the madding crowd around science lab area at 12:00 pm.
He said the rush was so high that people were hardly getting scopes for bargaining, as shopkeepers at Gawsia were displaying fixed price board in their shops, which is quite unusual.
Another customer - Mr Jamal Uddin - went to Aziz Super Market at Shahbag. He could stay there from 11:00 am till 3:30 pm, when the market was fully packed.  
Traders of garments, shoes, jewelry, accessories and other allied Eid-related items Friday expressed mixed reactions over their business on the weekend, which usually fetches them the lion's share of their weekly turnover.
The shopkeepers and customers are of totally opposite view with regard to the prices of various products this year.
A section of sellers have expressed dissatisfaction over their dull business, while another group admitted of doing moderate business. Most of the traders and sellers, however, agreed that the sales are lower compared to last year.
The country's political arena is relatively calm this year. But severe gridlock, poor law and order situation, early beginning of shopping, and increased clothing prices might have had a negative impact on the Eid sales this year, they noted.
Mr Proshanta Mollick, shop manager at Raktokarobi at the city's ARA Centre Shopping Complex, was not satisfied with their pre-Iftar sales Friday. He was expecting more customers would come for shopping after Iftar.
"We usually sell unstitch dresses of women, which have been sold at the very beginning of Ramadan. Now we are selling sarees, zakat and gift items. Indian dresses are more popular with women and girls."
Prices of the items are lower this year than the previous year, the sale is not yet satisfactory, he added.  
Mr Riaz, manager of Xareen'z, a ladies fashion-wear house, expressed the same view. According to him, their sale dropped by 50 per cent although prices are reasonable. The reason of such a deplorable business is quite beyond their understanding.
On the other hand, Mr Mahi, proprietor of Exclusive, a men's wear shop, said the customer turnout was quite satisfactory Friday compared to other days. But he too claimed that their sale has dropped by 20 per cent compared to last year though prices are lower. Friday business is also dull in this Ramadan than the previous year, he added.
Mr Akash, showroom manager of Jenny's, a shoe store at the city's Orchard Point, said their weekly business largely depends on Friday, as people usually come out of their houses to shopping malls. But this Friday their turnout was not as per expectation, while the sale has declined 30 per cent against last year.
He informed that Jenny's has ladies and kids collection ranging between Tk 690 and Tk 2,990.
"This year the prices of Jenny's products have been kept at a reasonable level, so that people of all sections can buy the items of their choice," he added.
Imtiaz Faruk, a resident of Dhanmondi, has been visiting different shopping centres for the last couple of days, but still has not found the products as per his expectation. According to him, the prices of various items are higher this year compared to the previous years, while Indian products are dominating the Eid market.
"If I do not get my dresses in this market today, I will go to Vasavi and Rina Latif," he added.
Afzal Hossain, a shopper, came to buy his Eid dresses at ARA Centre at about 4:00 pm, as he cannot go for shopping on weekdays because of traffic jam and fasting.
He will go to Bashundhara City, if he does not find suitable products here, he informed.
Mrs Sonia, a resident of the city's Green Road area, has done half of her shopping from Concord Arcadia Shopping Mall. Now she has come to Orchard Point at Dhanmondi to buy the rest. She preferred Friday afternoon for shopping, as the roads were a bit free then.