Winter clothing sales still slow as chill nears

Summer, monsoon, spring, and fall all have their distinct characteristics in terms of how you dress, but winter might be the best season for staying fashionable with tonnes of clothes to choose from. 

As the night is long and the cold bites you hard, the demand for warm clothes goes up. Winter requires unique clothes that we do not wear all year around.

Keeping that in mind, local fashion brands are trying to come up with clothes of various designs to attract customers. Though winter has not yet settled well in the capital, winter clothing has started arriving in the markets in the capital. 

If you want to buy various types of winter clothes and accessories, including warm sheets, sweaters, full-sleeve T-shirts, pants, jackets, children’s clothes, blankets, hats, and socks, at cheaper prices, the Bangabazar market is a good place.

Also, hawkers on sidewalks in different places in Dhaka have started selling light winter clothes. Hawker Rashed Mia said heavy clothes have not arrived yet but will do soon. He sells children’s winter clothes in Gulistan.

Renowned local brands, such as Gentle Park, Le Reve, Richman, Aarong, SaRa, Country Boy, Virgo, Yellow, and many more, have decorated their outlets, showcasing winter clothes from those that are reasonably priced to high-end ones.

As winter has not arrived yet fully, sales are pretty slow. A salesman at Gentle Park’s Elephant Road outlet said customers were visiting them but sales had not picked up yet.

“I think people are already struggling with price hikes of essential items and high inflation. Considering that, whether our sales volume will be large this year or not remains to be seen.”

From footpaths to small and large stores as well as shopping malls, colourful winter clothes of various styles are now available. Shidharta, who came from Banasree to Elephant Road to buy winter outfit, said prices are comparatively high this year. “It is hard for me, who comes from a middle class family, to choose clothes that I can afford. I do not know whether prices will drop when winter will fully set in.”  

Even a few days ago, makeshift shops on footpaths in different areas of Dhaka were selling summer clothes. They are now filled with various types of warm clothes.

Hawkers at Mirpur 1 Circle and Mirpur 10 sell comparatively cheap clothes and people from different places in Dhaka go there. But this year, sales have not picked up in those places yet. 

Along with warm clothes, people have also started buying blankets and comforters. Thin blankets costing Tk 200-250 per piece on average are mostly available in makeshift shops on footpaths.

Even though it is not that cold yet that requires the use of blankets, some traders said they were stocking up before prices increase.