Pahela Baishakh sales elusive amid Eid rush, inflation

Businesses in clothing, flowers, sweets, traditional items and other sectors which usually witness a sale spree centring Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar, have seen almost no sales for the festival this year amid rushes for Eid shopping and inflationary pressure.

Heatwaves and gridlocks in Dhaka and other cities also discouraged people to get out of their homes, which is another reason behind the dull Pahela Baishakh business, sector insiders said.

"Businesses used to sell goods worth Tk1,000-1,500 crore on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh, but the sale is elusive this time," said Md Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association.

"People are now concerned about Eid shopping as inflation has reduced their purchase power. Prices of everything, including clothes and other outfits, hiked significantly. Apart from these, people's shopping experience is not good now due to road conditions. All contributed to the drastic fall in Pahela Baishakh sales," he told The Business Standard. "Eid sales are also dull this year," Helal Uddin observed.

Although clothes are most purchased items on Pahela Baishakh as well as Eid, most traders did not have collections for the traditional Bengali festival. Take Deshi Dosh, a popular clothing brand, for example. "We have no collection for Pahela Baishakh, rather we are mostly focused on Eid. As anticipated, we got rare customers who looked for Pahela Baishakh items," said Mohsin Parvej, sales executive of Deshi Dosh at a Dhaka outlet.

"We, however, have brought a number of colourful dresses and sarees which can be used in both Eid and Pahela Baishakh," he told TBS.

Assistant Manager of Artizan in the capital's Aziz Market Zahid Hasan said, "We have a huge collection for Eid, but little for Baishakh. The logic behind the strategy is that people are unlikely to spend double for both Eid and Baishakh."

"Despite the two big festivals in a short span of time, we see at least 20% lower sales now. People have no money in hand, how will they buy? On top of that, the weather is too hot and there are intense traffic jams, so people are not willing to come out of their homes while fasting," he added.

In previous years, discounts in different brand outlets were very common on Pahela Baishakh, but it did not happen this year. Even corporate organisations which used to present gifts to their stakeholders on the occasion have been under austerity. People are also reluctant to buy gifts, which usually include flowers, toys, ilish, sweets, and dry food, for their dear ones. As a consequence, sales of these goods are insignificant now.

Shewrapara's Bikrampur Sweets Manager Tofazzel Hossain said they got a lot of advanced orders for sweets on Pahela Baishakh yesteryears and regular sales were also high. "I don't understand what happened this year. We did not get any advanced orders this time. Even regular sales are not good."

Doll maker Juliet, who had no spare time in the past years for piles of work orders, said, "I am surprised, I see no additional demand for toys on the occasion of Pahela Baisakh this time. But, every year we used to work day and night to deliver orders."

Juliet and his fellow workers supply dolls, bangles, garlands, pendants, and clay products to different village fairs organised on Pahela Baishakh. Such fairs are unlikely now as Pahela Baishakh falls in the fasting month of Ramadan, they said.

Sohrab Hossain, the owner of Apan Pushp Bitan at Shahbagh, said they do not see extra demand for flowers on this occasion of Pahela Baishakh. "On such days in the previous years, we had not time to talk to customers but this time we are passing days idle."

Flower traders used to sell worth Tk60-100 crore on the occasion, but this time they are worried about their sales.

Traders who do business with Panta-ilish are also concerned about their business.