Fashion houses in tatters as Eid sales projected to plummet

Mohammad Nahian

Local fashion brands are fighting for their survival amid an intensifying second wave of Covid-19 that prompted the government to enforce a nationwide ‘strict’ lockdown.

The lockdown, now extended till April 28, has crashed hopes of recovering losses these fashion houses suffered last year because of a general holiday, which was stretched for weeks, by doing good business this Eid season.

According to fashion market players, Eid sales generally account for about 70 to 80 per cent of the total sales of their yearlong business, which is now at stake.

“Our misfortune began last year and continues to this year. We don't know how to survive the latest spate of lockdown. This has brought us to our knees,” said Soumik Das, manager of local fashion house Rang Bangladesh.

In a frustrated tone, Soumik said, “Only our business is not responsible for the countrywide spread of Covid-19. We wish to continue doing business following health guidelines.”

“The government needs to make a balance between the safety of people and their livelihoods during this lockdown,” he said, “Local clothing brands won’t survive otherwise.”

“If we are not able to do our business during major festivals, we cannot go on as we already took a hit last year because of the nationwide general holiday,” he added.

Soumik also said that they do not seek a loan from the government.“Payment of loan will be a burden for us if we cannot earn money.”

He said the government needed to take initiatives so that local fashion houses can carry on their work during the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

“Or they can buy products from us during this crisis moment,” he suggested.

Acknowledging the fact that Covid-19 positive cases and deaths continue to rise across Bangladesh, owners of fashion houses, however, think it is extremely difficult to keep running their businesses with so many barriers.

They expressed concerns that as Pahela Baishakh sales already plummeted, Eid-ul-Fitr sales might also meet the same miserable fate due to the ‘strict’ lockdown.

Shaheen Ahmmed, president of the Fashion Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh, said sales mainly go up before the two Eids, but things are different now due to the lockdown.

“Each of the two Eids generates about Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 crore in sales for businesses around the country. Unfortunately, the ‘strict’ lockdown hampers everyone’s business,” he said.

“Around 100 fashion houses are current members of FEAB. Most of them cannot open their shops right now. We requested the government earlier not to extend the lockdown but they ignored our plea,” said Shaheen Ahmmed.

Nasim Ahmed, information technology officer of Sadakalo, said, “Currently, 2 per cent of our sales take place online. However, customers don’t seem to be interested to buy clothes online during the lockdown.”

“We are, therefore, experiencing a fall in sales and counting losses too,” he added.

Fashion brands and small traders said the government at least should allow them to sell their products as the livelihoods of a large number of people depend on these businesses.

They do not want any more lockdown as it has thwarted their plans of getting over last year’s losses.

People involved with the fashion house industry said that many small fashion outlets have already closed down and many of them are getting involved in other businesses to keep their clothing business alive.

Industry insiders said local clothing brands lost their momentum due to the lockdown that started from Pahela Baishakh.  They are also afraid to open new branches in local markets.