Boutiques in Chittagong are dismal over dreary customer turnout with less than three weeks left to Pahela Baishakh, usually an occasion for brisk sales.
What otherwise would have been a festive season, the political strife has dampened the mood, designers said.
Business has been slow and orders have gone down substantially, they added.
Boutiques in Chittagong like Shoilpik, Miah Bibi, Pinon, Anindya and Rowshan’s see the faces of few customers in the peak buying hours of the evening.
Shoilpik has seen a dip in sales in the first three months of the year, said Mohammed Elias, owner of Shoilpik, a fast expanding boutique in the port city, with 19 outlets, including three in Dhaka,
The 37-year-old entrepreneur said his sales slumped by around 15 percent to 18 percent this year and never before did he feel so much sales pressure in his business life.
Despite the slump, he is hoping to recoup some losses in the coming festive season and his workshop is running at full force.
He urged the politicians to find an alternative but equally effective method to press home their demands, to spare the sufferings of the common people.
“The business community suffers the most during political upheavals,” said Elias, hoping there would be some sort of normalcy in the coming days so that people could visit the boutiques to shop for Pahela Baishakh.
Rowshan Ara Chowdhury, owner of Rowshan’s, said sales at her boutique dropped by 40 percent to around Tk 3 lakh in February, compared to the monthly average, as many days were lost to shutdowns. She dreads to see the sales figure for March as the situation was the same.
Although boutiques look forward to Pahela Baishakh, which accounts for 20 percent of annual turnover, Rowshan’s has trimmed production down this year, fearing lacklustre sales, said the owner of the boutique that opened 18 years ago in Dampara.
She also urged politicians to keep the welfare of the masses in mind before embarking upon pro-grammes that bring businesses to a standstill.
Ivy Hasan, well know for print clothing and home décor, said the festive mood is missing and orders are down by a third of usual business because of the political strife.
“Customers usually opt for home décor items right before the Bangla New Year but this year there has been a noticeable reduction in orders,” she said.
Sales at this time of the year usually account for 30 percent of annual sales at her boutique Doll’s House, but Ivy is apprehensive about reaching that mark this year.
Lutfa Sanjeeda, owner of Anindya, a boutique with two showrooms in Chittagong, said she has gloomy sales expectations.
“I am not sure I can pay the wages of my workers regularly if this political situation continues,” she said.
During hartals, there is hardly any production in her workshop as many workers do not show up, she added.
Despite drawbacks, some boutiques have been able to keep their head above water by overcoming the odds.
Kazi Shahtaz Perveen, a partner at SM Boutiques (Sreya Munmuns), said even though they concentrated on salwar kameezes previously, they added saris to their collection. They have successfully acquired big orders before Pahela Baishakh, she added.
Monideepa Das, the other partner, said in addition to dresses, people also like decorating their homes before starting the New Year. Boutiques that also make home décor items at this time of the year get additional business, she added.
On the sales of curtains, bed covers, cushion covers and table mats, Monideepa said she received additional orders from home and abroad and hoped to recoup some losses incurred on other items.
Boutique owners in Chittagong are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping for sales to pick up. (Source)
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