Home ›› 13 Apr 2023 ›› News
With Eid-ul-Fitr only a week away, sales of Eid-centric fashionwear have picked up the pace just like it does every year. But this time, it has made a negative impact on Pahela Baishakh-centric fashionwear sales.
With only a day remaining before the celebrations of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangla year, both sellers and shoppers have been found seemingly busy prioritising and dealing with Eid fashionwear.
Like before Eid every year, people of all ages and from all social strata are thronging the shopping malls and complexes, such as Jamuna Future Park, Bashundhara City Shopping Complex, New Market and the markets around it, Eastern Plaza, Police Plaza Concord, Shimanto Square, etc. around Dhaka city, to buy the clothing of their choices for themselves and their loved ones.
Brands like Aarong, Anajan’s, Cats Eye, Richman, Yellow, Ecstasy, Sara Fashions, Dorjibari, Smartex, KayKraft, Le Reve and Easy have come up with their latest and impressive selection of stylish Eid and Baishakh-centric clothing for men, women and children.
Jebunnesa Noor, a private university student, is always particular about picking her fashionwear from classic traditional pieces to modern, trendy looks based on upcoming festivals.
She went to Bashundhara City on Wednesday and bought two lehengas and a saree. She said, “For me, clothes represent confidence. I always follow fashion trends and try to pick the Eid outfits best for me.
“Since Pahela Baishakh is now just a few days before Eid, I bought the saree only for Baishakh. However, I do not have a plan yet to go out and celebrate this time because of the hot weather, fasting and bad traffic.”
Housewife Afroza Akhter was at New Market on Wednesday. “I had plans to buy clothes both for Eid and Baishakh. But after making the essential purchases for Eid, I had to restrain myself from spending more for Baishakh. The fashion items are so costlier now,” she said.
Sabuj, a salesperson at Aarong’s Dhanmondi branch, said they were facing a heavy rush of Eid shoppers nowadays. “It’s five times more customers than the regular times. Many customers come between 11am and 3-4pm but the pressure becomes unbelievable after iftar.”
“We are selling Eid-centric fashionwear like saree, three-pieces, single kameez, kurti, tunic, veil, ready blouse, blouse piece, unstitched three-pieces and gown for women. We also have panjabis, pajamas, katua, kabli set, shirts, t-shirts and caps for men,” he said.
“We are not selling Baishakh-specific dresses this time because no one is specifically searching for them. We have some colourful collections for all ages that can be worn for Baishakh celebrations,” he added.
“As people will celebrate Pahela Baishakh amid the month of fasting, it will be a bit difficult to cite the exact volume of Pahela Baishakh-centric sales from those linked to Eid,” said Sabuj.
Shaheen Ahmmed, the owner of popular fashion brand Anjan’s, told The Business Post that they served few customers in the first 10 days of Ramadan but Eid sales have gone up in the second and third weeks.
“We usually sell over one-third of our products during Ramadan out of the total yearlong sale but we will know how much we made after the fourth week of sales. Hopefully, it will be higher than other times,” he said.
Asked about their Baishakh collection, Shahin said, “We have some colourful collections like saree, Panjabi, etc. for Baishakh in all 21 outlets but on a very limited scale. Customers can check them out as well.”
“We keep a limited amount of clothing for Baishakh. This year it’s even negligible. But Baishakh collections will hopefully be higher next year,” he said.
Kay Kraft Co-founder Khalid Mahmood Khan said entrepreneurs thought this year’s sales would be better than last year and that was how they prepared, but they are not selling as much as they expected.
“As most of the customers are prioritising Eid shopping over Pahela Baishakh, sellers are also focusing on that to ensure profit,” he said.
People’s reluctance to buy clothes for both Eid and Pahela Baishakh may also be a result of the decrease in their purchasing power due to inflation and rising prices of products. Sales only increase when people are free from such worries, Khalid added.
According to SaRa Lifestyle Limited, it’s selling Pahela Baishakh clothes suitable for the current hot weather in its 11 branches across the country.
“Last year, there was a large gap between Eid and Pahela Baishakh and it made a positive impact on the business. But this time, there is no distinct impact on sales, said Rang Bangladesh CEO Soumik Das.
According to a Bangladesh Fashion Entrepreneurs Association survey conducted in 2012, fashion houses across the country make sales of around Tk 6,000 crore throughout the year.
More than 50 per cent of the sales come during Eid-ul-Fitr and at least 25 per cent ahead of Pahela Baishakh, it said.
