Bongo Bazaar kicks into high gear ahead of Eid

The most sought-after wholesale market in the capital Bongo Bazar is virtually exploding with the presence of wholesalers, retailers and traders.

A recent visit to the market found that skyrocketing sales are happening ahead of the Eid ul-Fitr after the market received the pandemic blow over the past two years.

“We have equipped our stores with favourite apparel items in a bid to attract a large number of customers who are flocking to our shops every day,” traders said.

“Thousands of shoppers and traders show up in Bongo Bazar located in Fulbaria, Gulistan, every day, and their presence has largely increased as Eid ul-Fitr is just around the corner.”

Since its establishment in 1989, Bongo Bazaar – a cluster of shops that make up the market — has been the preferred place for the capital denizens, small traders and retailers as the market offers quality clothes at relatively affordable prices. The market mostly sells and supplies three kinds of garments.

The first of its kind is export quality products that are rejected by the RMG makers for slight defects; second, there are clothes produced solely for local market while the third is some import items procured from China, India, Thailand and other countries.

The market has a wide-range of winter wear mostly suited for those going to cold countries.

The most popular and sought-after products include casual wear such as panjabi, salwar kameez, men’s wear, T-shirt, sharee, kids wear, etc.

Despite an increasing number of malls and branded shops, Bongo Bazaar has still managed to not only hold on to but has augmented its clientele instead.

However, the pandemic brought the market to its knees in the last two years. The wholesalers expect to recoup their losses through a bumper sale during this Eid ul-Fitr. The stores wholesaling panjabis were seen mostly crowded with enthusiastic shoppers while shopkeepers in other stores were also seen passing their busiest time of the year.

The store owners told The Business Post that the demand for their wholesale products is so high that they are not being able to cater for their regular customers and retailers.

“We are making a great sale, and we are also passing a busy time to satisfy our customers as the Eid ul-Fitr is just only weeks away,” said Alauddin Sarkar, proprietor of Shahajala Panjabi Bitan in Bongo Bazar.

“As the pandemic is dying down and everything has got back to normal, the purchase capacity of people has increased thereby.” A few other wholesalers echoed Alauddin, saying that they would be able to make a stunning comeback if the sales remain constant throughout the month of Ramadan.

Dollar Hossain of Dollar Fashion House said, “We are getting a huge number of orders from all over the country. Traders and retailers are placing orders and visiting our shops to buy their desired products.”

However, some wholesales claimed that they are not making good sales after the 10th Ramadan, and their sales have plunged. Chayonika Garments Proprietor Md Mozammel Hossain said, “We are not making good sales. Before and after the Shab-e-Barat, the sales become relatively good enough, but this time it appears to have gone down.”

“We are worried though. But we hope that the situation would turn around,” he added.

On Thursday, the shops in the market were seen packed with buyers.

“You cannot get into the market without facing any hassles as traders are selling their last lot of garments. While the market was largely empty in the last two years due to the pandemic, we are eyeing big sale this year,” said Dhorjo Islam, owner of Nice Collection Store.

A Gopalganj-based apparel retailer Nazmul Kabir, who came to market to buy women’s wear, told The Business Post, “This year we are trying to make a massive turnover and recoup losses incurred over the past two years.”