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Fashion houses prepare for sales bonanza this Eid

Rokon Uddin
01 Apr 2023 00:00:00 | Update: 01 Apr 2023 00:13:20
Fashion houses prepare for sales bonanza this Eid
Customers check out clothes at a fashion outlet in the capital recently – Shamsul Haque Ripon

Ever since the onset of the coronavirus in the country, local fashion brands have witnessed their sales dwindling, even during the major festival seasons. But with no threat of the virus at present, the brands are hoping for a sales bonanza this year.

Some fashion outlets said with Eid-ul-Fitr a few weeks away, sales have already begun. They are preparing for a mega sale this Eid which will help them make up for the low profits during other major sale seasons. The ongoing economic volatility will not pose a big challenge in this regard.

“Wholesalers have begun selling products early. For retailers, the sale will begin within a week. However, our Eid collection is already in the market and we are witnessing some sales,” Syed Azharul Haque Azad, proprietor of fashion brand Sadakalo, told The Business Post.

Syed, who is also the former president of Fashion Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (FEAB), continued, “We have prepared for a better sale this year compared to the previous few years. Last year, sales were within our expectations. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our expectation was very low.

“This year there is no pandemic. We do not expect much sales in Pohela Boishakh, and during Eid-ul-Adha, people mostly focus their spending on buying animals for sacrifice. All things considered, most of the apparel sales happen during Eid-ul-Fitr.”

According to fashion entrepreneurs, people have been mostly focusing on purchasing new clothes during Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest Muslim festivals in the world, in recent years. As Pohela Boishakh will be celebrated during Ramadan and right before Eid this year, traders are not expecting any major sale centring the major Bengali festival. They expect people will mainly focus on buying clothes for Eid.

Visiting several fashion outlets in the capital, this correspondent saw that popular outlet like Sadakalo, Anjan’s, Aarong, Rong Bangladesh, already had a huge collection of clothes on display marking the Eid. Most of them are making a better sale than last year. Their collection is also bigger than last year.

At the same time, brands have focused on bringing diversity in designs and fabrics of the clothes considering the looming summer season. Shirts, fatua, salwar- kameez and other dresses have been made using thin, comfortable fabrics that are affordable for the majority of the country’s population.

Sahin Ahmed, proprietor of Anjan’s and president of FEAB, said, “Eid-ul-Fitr carries a special significance as a social and religious festival. Everyone participates in it, everyone buys. And the first choice of shopping is fashion items.”

He continued, “For the first time after Covid-19, we are expecting a completely regular sale. We have prepared with that optimism in mind. Along with the increase in the number of our clothing collection, we have also brought variety in the designs in accordance with the people’s taste and environment. But we will know the real market situation a week after the Eid sales start.”

According to Sahin, the scope of domestic fashion houses is huge. These outlets have annual business worth more than Tk 10,000 crore.

“Before Corona, we used to have huge sales around various festivals throughout the year, so the share of Eid-ul-Fitr sales was far below 50 per cent of the whole year’s sales. But due to the decrease in the sales of other sources since Covid-19, Eid-ul-Fitr accounts for more than 50 per cent of the whole year’s sales,” he added.

Meanwhile, Aarong’s Chief Operating Officer Mohammad Ashraful Alam said buyers are already coming to their outlets for shopping.

“Our sales figures from last week suggest that domestic fashion houses will have good sales this time,” he said.

Speaking about the high prices of clothes, he said as the prices of other raw materials including yarn, dyes have gone up, it is natural that it will have some impact on garment manufacturing.

“But we have adjusted the price, so that no one’s budget breaks. Suppose a person who bought a Punjabi for Tk 1,500-2,000 last year, can buy it at the same price this year too. But there will be some difference in design. Various works including embroidery on the clothes have been reduced a bit, so that the additional cost can be adjusted. Clothes are also made for those who have a higher budget.”

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