Summer drives Eid shoppers to snap up cotton panjabi
Sanwar Hossain | Friday, 24 June 2016
Shoppers are spoilt for choice as a wide range of panjabis -diverse in style, design and fabric - have hit retail outlets for this year's Eid festival.
Considering the June-July weather, the hottest and most humid months of the year, consumers are mostly buying cotton panjabis instead of other fabrics. Different boutiques, fashion houses and traders have offered a wide range of soft, cotton panjabis.
Higher and middle income customers prefer to shop from fashion labels instead of the unbranded open-market, choosing to shop from the bigger malls, boutique centres and stores. However, sales at the open market are much larger in size compared to the branded outlets.
Among the major fashion labels, Aarong is offering panjanbis made from addi cotton, cotton, endi cotton, hand-woven cotton, jacquard cotton, joysree silk, khadi cotton, muslin, sico (silk and cotton), silk, viscose, viscott (viscose and cotton) on a wide color spectrum with prices ranging from Tk 900 to Tk 8,000. White cotton salwar pajamas to silk Aligarh pajamas there is priced between Tk 590 to Tk 2000. Panjabi-pajama sets sell for Tk 4000 upwards.
Kay Kraft is offering cotton, joy silk, silk, dupiana, endi silk items priced at between Tk 850 to Tk 8500. Their cost of children's range is between Tk 450 and Tk 1600.
Market insiders at the open-market told the FE that Indian Punjabis top the choice of the customers compared to locally-made products. Almost 60 per cent customers are choosing Indian panjabis for their fabric quality, designs and styles.
The different types of Indian panjabi available in the market are: Modi, Orobindo, Kushal, Koshish, Jayem, Bajrangi Bhaijan, Bap-Beta, Tum-se-pyaar as well as other Sherwani and Kabuli sets. Price of such panjabis is between Tk 1,200 and Tk 7,500.
Bangladeshi Punjabis made from Cotton, Kataan, Jute Cotton, Endi Silk, Endi Cotton, Rajshahi Silk, Matka, Khaddar, Dhutian, Rajshahi Andi Silk, and Ankhi Cotton are second choice among customers. Local panjabies are priced at Tk 700 to Tk 4500.
The non-brand showrooms of Ayesha shopping complex, Peer Yameni market, Sharif market of Shadarghat are hub for the bulk of the panjabi-sales, offering attractive collections and prices.
The showrooms of Elephant Road, Basundhara City Shopping Complex, Eastern Plaza, Chowrongi market and Riajuddin market of Gulistan, Sadarghat market, Pir Yameni Shopping complex, Rajdhani Shopping Complex are other hot spots for panjabi in the city.
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