Wholesalers face garment sale slump as retailers cut back on Eid purchases

The wholesale garment market in Old Dhaka's Islampur, one of the largest in the country, usually bustles with activity during Ramadan as retailers stock up for Eid. However, wholesale traders in the market are experiencing sluggish sales this year.

Wholesalers attribute low sales to rising inflation and the high prices of essential commodities.

They, however, expect sales to pick up after the first 10 days of Ramadan.

During a visit to Islampur and Gulistan clothing markets on Friday, wholesale traders reported that sales were down by half compared to last year. 

According to the Islampur Garment Traders Association, around Tk10,000 crore worth of garments are sold in Islampur during Eid-ul-Fitr every year.

However, while wholesale traders of the market were ready for sales with a display of garments at their stalls, there were hardly any customers.

The sales centre of Messers Jony Textile's Jony Print Saree was void of customers Friday afternoon.

Manager Wasim Reza, told The Business Standard, "Sales are down by about 60% than last year. Retailers from all over the country come to buy from us. But since their sales are down, they are buying less goods."

A similar situation was found at the Rajkanya Print Saree shop at the market. Monir Hossain, the manager, was seen waiting for customers with three other salesmen.

He said, "We are sitting in the shop waiting for customers, but there aren't any. The Pakiza Print Saree shop next door shuttered down early because there were no customers."

In response to a question about the reason behind low sales, he said, "Usually, wholesale trade picks up about 15 days before Ramadan. But this time, due to the high prices of essential commodities and rising inflation, retail sales of clothing will be lower.

"So the retailers are reluctant to stock up. A retailer who bought 200 sarees last year is now buying 100 sarees. Our sales are down 50% this year."

There are over 6,500 showrooms in Islampur. Thousands of retail and wholesale sellers from various districts come to Islampur to buy clothes, mainly for tailoring ahead of Eid.

Usually, clothes from different factories in Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Tangail districts and Dhaka's Keraniganj upazila come here. Various types of garments including sarees, salwar-kameez, pants and lungis are sold in Islampur.

According to the traders of the Islampur wholesale market, most shops there usually sell out by the 20th of Ramadan. But the low sales up till now have them worried.

Traders from 15 different shops in Islampur said that their sales have decreased by almost half compared to last year.

Hridoy Khan, a salesman at Rakhi Print Saree, said, "We are worried about the sales of clothes this time. Look, almost all the products in the shop are unsold."

Wholesale traders from Gulistan reported a similar trend of sluggish sales.

Mohammad Ripon, a salesman at Zenia Garments in Gulistan's Dhaka Trade Center, said, "We sell different types of pants wholesale. Last year during Ramadan we were so busy with customers that we would not have had time to talk to journalists. But now there are no customers. We have only sold Tk25,000-30,000 worth of goods today. This is our peak sale season. But our sales are low this year."

A salesman at Nafisa Garments, on condition of anonymity, said, "The lower-middle class is spending all their money at the kitchen market. Where will they get the money to buy clothes? Those who used to buy two pieces of clothing will now probably buy one."

Notably, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, inflation for food products was 9.44% and non-food items was 9.33% in February.

Mohammad Helal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity, said, "We hope that retail sales will pick up by Friday. People will get their Eid bonuses after the 25th of this month. Sales might pick up afterwards."