Local footwear industries managed to rebound partially this year riding on Eid sales as they recovered about 50 per cent of the loss incurred in last year’s pandemic period, said business insiders.
About 80 per cent of the business in a year of footwear industry took place in Eid season as a good number of shoppers tries to buy a pair of new shoes on the occasion of Eid, the largest festival of Muslim community.
Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, Business Development Manager of Orion Footwear Ltd said, “Eighty per cent of total yearly business takes place in Eid season. Last year, our business suffered a lot because of Covid-19. We are yet to recover the losses that we incurred last year. But we see a light at the end of the tunnel as business rebounds about 50 per cent this year.”
“Keeping the purchasing power of the customers in mind, we tried to keep footwear prices within the reach of shoppers and the policy will help boost our sales this year,” said Mohammad Minhaz Uddin.
The Orion has 40 outlets across the country and expects the turnover to cross 50 per cent more than the last year, he added.
“Because of the pandemic, footwear sales are relatively low this year but much better than last year’s when sales slipped by around 70 per cent. In comparison with last year’s Eid sale, footwear sales this year are hovering around 50 per cent to 60 per cent, but still short of expectations,” he added.
Market players involved with footwear manufacturing and marketing told The Business Post that about one-third of the total revenue of a financial year is generated from Eid sale which is around Tk 4000 crore.
According to industry insiders, the total turnover of footwear sales in the local market revolves around Tk 7,000 to Tk 8000 crore a year and about 10 to 12 lakh people are directly or indirectly involved with this industry.
According to Orion Footwear Ltd data, the company invested Tk 15 crore before Eid and 40 per cent of the total yearly turnover comes from the the month of Ramadan and Eid sales.
Bangladesh Paduka Prostutkarak Samity, an organisation of 500 to 700 small and medium shoe factory owners who produce budget footwear for low-income consumers, said, last year their accumulated loss neared Tk 150 crore.
Shahin Khan, President of Bangladesh Paduka Prostutkarak Samity, said last year coronavirus pandemic paled the shoe industry severely and the sector is yet to recover from the loss.
“This year, we have so far got about 40 per cent sales which are not enough to survive as maximum shoe factories are running businesses taking loans from banks,” he said.
“We received no help from the government despite some 10 lakh to 12 lakh people are directly involved with this profession,” he complained.
Local footwear giant Apex this year registered a modest sale which plummeted last year due to a 66-day general holiday.
Talking to The Business Post on Sunday, Sagnik Guha, General Manager (marketing) of Apex Footwear Limited, said, “We see about 50 per cent higher sales this year compared with the amount of last year. We are expecting further hike in footwear sales in the coming days.”
According to the data provided by Apex, there are some 250 Apex-administered outlets and 200 franchise outlets across the country.
Sales from the e-commerce platform of the Apex sees a sharp rise, said Sagnik Guha adding “People are feeling encouraged to buy products from the online platform because many people are trying to avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings in the unprecedented situation.”
