Local clothing retailers, brands pin hopes on upcoming festivals

Local clothing retailers and brands expect their sales to revive in the upcoming Pahela Falgun, Valentine’s Day, Pahela Baishakh and Eid festivals thanks to the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to market insiders.

Last year, the businesses missed out on the sales bonanza that takes place during Pahela Baishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr as it was the peak pandemic period.

Sales ahead of the Valentine’s Day and Pahela Falgun were good last year, but the situation started deteriorating from March, market operators said.

The sale of clothing items is higher during Pahela Baishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr because a lot of garment items are given as Zakat, they added.

“Every year, local spinners and weavers can sell Tk 25,000 crore worth of yarn and fabrics during the Pahela Baishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr festivals,” said Monsoor Ahmed, secretary to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

“Last year, we missed a huge amount of business as most of the factories were closed during the two big festivals in March and April,” Ahmed told The Daily Star by phone.

This year, all the factories are busy in manufacturing yarn, fabrics and garments for local markets to catch the huge sales bonanza during the two festivals.

But, if the second and third wave of the pandemic comes and affects normal business once again, then there is a possibility of losing business this year too.

“However, I am hopeful that the vaccine has been boosting the confidence of people. So the possibility of any damage in business is almost zero, thanks to the vaccine’s arrival,” Ahmed said.

Khalid Mahmood Khan, entrepreneur of Kay Kraft, a leading local clothing brand, also echoed the same.

Business had been very dull over the last eight to nine months but it is reviving now with the arrival of vaccines as people have started coming out from their long homestays, Khan said.

Last year, his company made good business in February but from March onwards, turnover was not so good, said Khan, who runs 25 outlets across the country.

“It is expected that people will start coming out from their homes,” he added.

Biplob Saha, managing director of Bishworang, another leading local clothing brand, said business has been reviving gradually but is yet to fully return to normalcy.

The lack of business during major festivals hit hard the local brands, he said.

But, Azharul Hoque Azad, managing director of Sadakalo, yet another local clothing retailer, remains sceptical about the full revival of sales as the country’s educational institutions have not been reopened yet.

“The students and teachers constitute a major segment of customers of those goods,” he said.

“So, the sales of clothing items might not be as good as we are expecting now,” he added.

Besides, the people are still a bit cautious about spending their money amid the ongoing economic uncertainty.

Most retailers and brands have already gone online with their sales as the popularity of virtual marketing is increasing due to the advent of new technologies and increased use of smartphones.

The market size of local clothing retailers and brands is more than Tk 10,000 crore and some 6,000 entrepreneurs are engaged in this rising business, said Azad, who was also the president of the Fashion Entrepreneurs’ Association of Bangladesh (FEAB).

It is widely believed that the local market size for garments is nearly $14 billion and is rising with the growing middle-class.

“It is true that the sales of clothing items will increase this year but not to the level of pre-Covid times,” Azad added.

Khorshed Alam, chairman of Little Star Spinning Mill, which mainly produces yarn, said production at his mill reached pre-Covid levels in November, which indicates the business is reviving.

In the pre-Covid period, he used to produce 15,000 to 17,000 pounds of yarn daily for the local market.

Now, his factory is producing the same quantity of yarn per day, Alam said.

In July, August, September and October, his factory’s production level fell to 8,000 pounds a day because of pandemic induced downturn in sales, he said.

The yarn made at Alam’s mill is used to manufacture saris, panjabis, three-pieces for women and lungis, he said, adding that the sales of yarn and fabrics in the major sales points like Baburhat, Shekherchar, Madhabdi, Narsingdi, Gausia, Sirajganj and Belkuchi have already started picking back up.

The traders of those areas have targeted to manufacture the goods ahead of Pahela Baishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr festivals.

Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), also expects sales to revive ahead of the Pahela Baishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr festivals as business has almost returned to normalcy.

So, the level of confidence and health safety measures is better now compared with the peak hours of pandemic time, she said.

“I am also expecting better sales this year,” Ahmed said.