Eid shopping gets into gear

Eid shopping gathers momentum in the capital with people streaming into the markets and open-air shops. But higher prices of most wears and gift items made many to make a pause before fixing the choice.
It was the first weekend holiday on Friday in the current month of Ramadan and traders at shopping-malls and fashion houses passed busy time dealing with the shoppers.
Many a shop owner said they were enjoying fairly good sales. And the business will further increase next week. As it is still the beginning of Ramadan, customers are purchasing baby wears, unstitched shalwar-kamiz and gift items.
The shop owners said Indian and Pakistani shalwar-kamiz, saris and baby wears are in greater demand than local dresses. Fashion-lovers are fond of Indian luxury dresses to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr festival.     
Shamim Ahmed, the owner of Laila Fabrics at city's Karnaphuli Garden City market, said his sales increased at least 30 per cent over that of last Eid- ul-Fitr time. He sells Indian-brand women's wears, at prices ranging from Tk 3,500 to 8,000 each.  
Sales manager of Fashion Reveal, which also sells Indian and Pakistani women dresses at Mouchak market, said the sale at his showroom went up significantly from the beginning of Ramadan. "And on Friday it usually increased further."
But some traders expressed mixed reaction over their sales. They said they were yet to get festival sale this year. But it can increase from next week, they hoped.
However, customers complained that the prices climbed up to Tk 1000 each piece of clothes ahead of Eid. Traders are charging extra on the excuse of high-quality fabrics and exclusive designs.
The proprietor of Barakat Saris and Three Pieces at the Fortune Shopping Mall said his sales had not increased as yet, unlike that of last year. The sales marked shortfall by at least 20 per cent than that of last year.  
But Tahmina, sales manager at T-Max Fashion house at the same market, said her sale increased ahead of the Eid.
There have been no vital changes on the design and fashion on the dresses, saris, punjabis and other festival products.
Like that of last year, fashion houses and boutique houses have brought long kamiz, frock-cutting kamiz and saris with various designs and colours for women.
Traders displayed Ganga, Rivva and Om Tex, the Indian-brand shalwar-kamiz sets, which have some changes in design and colour this year.
A salesperson of Kay-Kraft said there is no change of materials on the dresses but deigns and colours have some modifications.
Owners of local boutique houses said their sales usually increase in the last 10 days of Ramadan as the customers wait for new deigns and fashions to arrive.
The owner of Tin Kanya Fashion at Mouchak market--a shop of kid and teenager dresses, in particular--said the prices increased by nearly Tk 800 for each item.
"But it has had no effect on my sales. It has rather increased by 40 per cent over last year's," he said.
He is displaying baby wears named Pakhi dress, Swapnapuri, Rajpuri and Pongkhiraj which are priced up to Tk 5,500 each. The average sales at his shop are Tk 40,000 a day.
Dulal, a salesman of Rafin Fashion that also sells kid's wears at Gawsia market, said they have been doing good business since the first day of Ramadan.
Habib Ullah, the owner of an unstitched salwar-kamiz shop at Gawsia, said the middle-income group is buying dresses copied from Indian brand, considering its lower prices.
"I am selling more than 100 dresses a day," he added.
He said his sales increase 30 per cent on the occasion of Eid. And such shopping binge will continue up till one day before the religious festival.