Winter clothes sales fall drastically

Badrul Ahsan | Published: December 21, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Traders of winter clothes in the city's markets fear losses worth billions of taka in their seasonal business as their sales fell drastically due to the ongoing confrontational political situation. Â
Shopkeepers said with the advent of winter they usually enjoy healthy sales from mid-November to mid-January every year. But this year they are faced with political programmes including blockades and hartals during their peak sales period that have totally crippled their business.
According to them, they could not even open their shops more than once a week due to the ongoing political turmoil and warm clothes at most of the shops and wholesale depots remained stockpiled due to the situation.
"We used to conduct more than 90 per cent of our business during this period. But this year we could not even sell five per cent of the same," Chandpur Traders proprietor Hasem Ali told the FE Friday sitting in his Banga Bazar outlet.
"Though we opened our shops on Fridays for the last two months, customer movement in the market is poor due to shortage of money in their hands," he added.
"I used to sell Tk 4 million to Tk 5 million worth of winter clothes every year on an average. But this year I could not sell even Tk 500,000 till now. There is no sign of the scenario changing within this season," Ali added.
Polwel Super Market trader Mohammed Easin Molla said most of the shop-owners at the market stockpiled winter clothes ahead of the season taking loans both from banks and other personal sources.
"We now fear further losses as most of our capital is blocked in the winter clothes. If we fail to clear winter clothes then we would not be able to purchase those the next season," Molla added.
"If the political turmoil continues further then traders would face billions of taka losses in their winter clothes business. After mid-January no customer would bother to buy these," he said.
Visiting different markets across the city Friday, this correspondent found that people are thronging mostly to warm clothes outlets of the markets.
Shopkeepers said they are now trying to sell off their goods at a marginal profit and in some cases at cost prices to clear stocks.
"I have come here to buy sweaters and blankets for my family members as winter is about to appear in its full gear," Taslima Amin, a private service holder told the FE.
Expressing her satisfaction she said prices of the winter clothes seemed reasonable this year. The gathering of customers at the city's makeshift shops is better than the stores due to comparatively lower prices, makeshift shop-owners said.
"I sell second-hand sweater of different sizes between Tk 350- Tk 500 with a profit of just Tk 50 per piece," GPO area trader Md Mamoonur Rashid said.
He said that limited income group people, particularly the lower middle-class prefer to buy blankets from makeshift shops in front of different markets mainly in Baitul Mukkarram and Gulistan areas.
Mr Rashid said makeshift traders neither have space or nor the financial solvency to maintain stock of goods.