Eid shopping in the capital has gathered momentum with more of city dwellers roaming markets to make the best buys for the festival. However, majority of them say high prices are spoiling their joy.
“The prices of garment items have gone up unexpectedly,” Rafeza Zaman Khan, consultant of a real-estate company, told The Daily Star yesterday.
“Out budget is limited. In the past, people used to be happy shopping ahead of Eid. But now they come to markets with a lot of tension,” she added. “It is mostly the problem of middle-class people.”
Delwar Hossain, a lawyer, came to Mouchak Market with his wife and two children yesterday.
“The shop owners are asking for very high prices, at least 30 percent higher over the last year,” he said.
While bargaining for a sari with a shop owner at the market, Arifa Akhter, a housewife, said, “The price of every item has increased… it is becoming tough for us to shop.”
However, the rising number of customers over the last two days brought sellers much relief as they saw low sales earlier this Ramadan.
“The sales have gone up compared to the first two weeks of Ramadan,” said Bellal Hossain, owner of Nandinee Fashion at Bashundhara Shopping Mall. “But it’s still lower than the last year.”
Aminul Islam Rubel, a sales manager of Suraiya Fashion in Mouchak Market, said their sales have gone up after 15th of Ramadan. But compared to the last Ramadan, overall sales are not encouraging.
He sold over 100 pieces of ladies garment a day in the holy month last year but it has come down to 60 to 70 pieces.
Rubel said the prices have gone up by Tk 200 to Tk 300 for a piece of salwar-kamiz.
Helma Mahmuda, in charge of Rang, a boutique on Bailey Road, said, “The sales are good.” But the prices of their items have soared by 20 to 30 percent due to hike in cloth and fabrics costs.
Selina Rita, a sales executive of Tangail Sari Kutir in the area, said the sales were not as good as the last year, even if their store had made extensive preparation for Eid and brought in new designs.
Hossain of Nandinee Fashion said the number of customers has not come down but the quantity of purchase by them has lowered. “If one customer bought three items last year, he is buying one item this year.”
“The sales have halved from the last year because of a tough economic condition,” he said.
The shop owners said the prices have gone up because of the rise in production cost. Some even blamed the troubled stockmarket for their low sales, saying a majority of the investors in the bourses are small investors.
However, they are yet to give up hope.
Subrata Saha, assistant manager of Banglar Mela, said, “Many people are going home early, making a negative impact on our sales. We hope people staying back in Dhaka will come to markets in the last couple of days before Eid.”
-With The Daily Star input
