Home ›› 12 Dec 2020 ›› World Biz
The month of Poush will begin after only few weeks. Winter has not arrived yet although it is the time to bid farewell to the month of Agrahayan. Although cool breeze from the north is announcing the arrival of winter but a neither warm nor cool weather is prevailing in the capital.
The northern part of the country has already been badly-affected but in the capital the temperature goes down a bit from the dusk to the dawn.
Delayed arrival of winter has adversely affected the market of warm clothes in the capital.
According to the sellers, market of warm clothes is having a bad patch due to coronavirus and seasonal fluctuations.
Different shopping malls of the capital namely New Market, DCC Market, Taltola Market, Bashundhara Shopping Mall, Metro Shopping Centre and Shimanto Square have been seen filled up with different types of fashionable winter clothes of young boys, girls and kids like hoodi, sweater, jacket, blazer, shawl and muffler.
These warm clothes with different colours and design seem very much attractive but the shops have failed to attract significant number of customers. Most of the people coming to the shop are having a look at the clothes displayed and inquiring about the prices of the same.
Warm clothes are available in different shopping malls of the capital at a price range of Tk 1000 to Tk 12-13 thousand. Most of the buyers of these markets belong to from the middle class to upper class.
Fashion victims are seen at different markets of the capital. Most of them are buying light warm clothes. However, some of them are choosing the clothes to purchase at a later date.
Saima Rahman a bank official came to Bashundhara City of the capital to purchase warm cloth for her father. She said that her father lives in North Bengal. Saima sent heavy jacket for her father to tackle the chilling weather.
Shops of new market have witnessed some crowds. Bushra Sarwar came to new market with her two children said that she has come to purchase clothes for her children although winter is yet to arrive. As her children are growing up, the clothes used in the last year will be of no use. Bushra purchased warm clothes in advance so that she does not have to be in trouble in case winter comes suddenly.
Traders of new market informed that this year sell of winter cloth is very poor. They have not been able to sell two percent of the clothes stocked. Every day 1 to 2 warm clothes are being sold from each shop.
Cloth trader of New Market Sohel Ahmed seemed a bit frustrated as he said that trading of cloth was not going well due to coronavirus. For this reason, he stocked up winter clothes in advance but very much frustrated as far as the response from the buyers received so far. Sohel was not clear on the amount of sell he is going to have this year.
However, trader Sumon seemed a bit hopeful. He is hoping that the market will go on in full swing by the end of December.
The abovementioned facts are related to the upper and middle class. But there are another group of people in the capital for whom the market gets going after the evening. Customers of this market are mainly day-labourers and those belonging to the middle class and lower-middle class.
A group of sellers seat with verities of warm clothes in the evening at Baitul Mukarram, Badda, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, Mohammadpur Krishi Market and adjacent areas, Mirpur and Uttara of the capital. Sale of warm clothes goes on till midnight. Warm clothes are available in these markets at a price range of Taka 50 to Tk 300.
A different scenario is prevailing in the market of winter clothes this year than the same time of the previous year.
Buyers are hardly venturing out when the sellers have seated on the footpaths with warm clothes.
Saiful, a warm clothes seller of Baitul Mukarram said that this year the selling is not going well. At the same of previous years it is hard to manage the customers but this time the scenario is totally different. Previously every person used to buy 7-8 warm clothes while this time the number has gone down to 2-3.
Some people blamed coronavirus for the poor condition of the market.
Al-Amin a clothes seller of Karwan Bazar said that people do not have cash in hand. For this reason they are not interested to purchase warm clothes this time. Most of the people may pass this winter with the clothes purchased on last time.
Md. Sajib purchased two sweaters for his two children and a shawl for his mother from a shop located beside that of Al Amin. Working in a garment he said to have purchased clothes in advance as the price may spike after few days.
Cloth traders Rasel and Nahid were trying to attract buyers at the footpath of Farmgate with clothes at a price of Tk 200. When asked about the selling they answered straight way negatively.
According to them very few people come to buy clothes as most of them come to have a look and bargain a bit.
Beside new clothes, there are second hand warm clothes in the footpath. These make shift footpaths seemed to have more customers than elsewhere. Day-labourers were seen to have purchasing clothes from these shops.
However, the sellers hope that the market will go in full swing and more clothes will come to the market.
aa/wi
