Pandemic hits fashion industry

Global pandemic has made a significant dent in the apparel retail industry, forcing the mass closures of retail stores and Bangladesh is not an exception. As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across Bangladesh, the outlook for the country’s shrinking fashion industry remains bleak with the pandemic once again dealing a crippling blow to business at one of the most lucrative times of the year.

Over the last year, many small outlets of fashion houses have closed down, while many entrepreneurs left the industry behind. A host of workers and artisans have also had to quit their jobs. Last year, too, when the markets were teeming with new collections and ranges of sarees, punjabis, three-pieces and kurtas ahead of Pahela Baishakh or Bangla New Year, the country went into ‘lockdown’ to rein in coronavirus infections.

Fashion houses were preparing for a turnaround in fortunes ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr and Pahela Baishakh this year but the rampant spread of the virus has thrown a spanner in the works. During a recent visit to the fashion houses in New Market, Science Laboratory, Kataban, Shahbag’s Aziz Super Market, Bashundhara Shopping Complex and Mirpur, it was apparent that most shops did not have new stocks of clothes for Baishakh. Customers were few and far between although the shopper turnout was relatively higher in Bashundhara Shopping Complex in the last week. Soumik Das, manager of ‘Rang Bangladesh’ fashion house, expressed his frustration over the current situation. Besides small entrepreneurs, big fashion houses are also thinking of cutting down the number of their outlets, he said.

“We are at a loss for words. The fashion industry seems to have suffered the most due to the epidemic. Now, I am trying to survive by downsizing the office and closing the more loss-making outlets.”

After the onset of the pandemic, the government announced various loan incentives but due to various conditions attached by banks, local fashion entrepreneurs could not take advantage of these, according Soumik. But as the market did not turn around, many companies did not need loans. “Last year, there was a lockdown in the country ahead of Baishakh and Eid. Everything stopped… billions of takas worth of goods were lying around in the hope of being sold. We are now seeing a repeat of that at the same time as last year. It is difficult to say how many entrepreneurs in the fashion industry will be able to survive. We had made a lot of preparation ahead of Baishakh and Eid. But we can’t turn our fortunes around this time either.”

“In 2020, sales dropped 70 percent. The same thing is happening in 2021. How can a sector survive with so many setbacks?” Explaining that the fate of many small artisans is tied to big fashion houses, he continued, “A big entity employs a smaller one to get some of its work done. Apart from their own work, these smaller entities survive on the two to four orders they get from the bigger ones. But it has not been happening for two years. No one can say what will happen next or how we will turn around.” Rang Bangladesh has a total of 25 showrooms in different cities across the country, including 16 as a sole proprietorship. The office has already been scaled down. Soumik said plans were afoot to close some showrooms to reduce losses.Shamsul Islam, manager of fashion house ‘Megh’ at Aziz Super Market, said that business usually picks up 10 days before the festivals of Baishakh and Eid. Last year, business was wiped out by the lockdown but this time, the shops could not attract customers in the few days they were open.

“Every year, on the occasion of the Bangla New Year festival, showrooms and wholesalers combined rake in around Tk 4 million to Tk 4.5 million from sales. This time, they couldn’t even make Tk 500,000. Daily sales in the shop have come down to as low as Tk 2,000 compared to about Tk 40,000 two years ago.” Shamsul said that almost everyone in the fashion business is now leaning towards online shopping. “Now, in this situation, we are looking at a lot of online sales. Around four or five dresses are being sold daily. Sometimes, it exceeds the ‘offline’ sales. Orders are coming from all over the country.”

For two years in a row, sales of fashion houses as well as outlets have been on a downward trajectory. As a result, many young people have lost their jobs and changed their profession. ‘Megh’ fashion house had five showrooms in Dhaka. But now, that number has come down to one in a bid to reduce losses. The situation was similarly grim at another showroom called ‘Lammi Craft’ in Aziz Super Market last Sunday. Under normal circumstances, business typically be booming but the store was virtually deserted this year.

Arif Hossain, manager of the store, said he has been involved in the business for 10 years. They had to let go four of their 10 employees last year due to a slump in business. Although there was the hope of making up for the losses this year, that did ultimately transpire. “There are no buyers for Baishakh-based products. Since there will be no celebrations, there won’t be any buyers. Although the expectation is to sell products worth around Tk 20,000 daily, we are only getting around Tk 5,000 to 7,000. We are having to count losses at the end of each month.

“We have to spend Tk 20,000 a month on rent and other expenses for the shop. Even during Pahela Baishakh period, we can’t even make a profit of Tk 15,000 at the end of the month. What is the way out of this situation?” ‘Blue Craft’ represents a real example of a showroom having to wind up due to the pandemic. Ripon Ahmed has been the manager of the shop for the last six months. But even last year, he had been the owner of two showrooms at the Center Point Shopping Mall in Malibagh.

“I could not afford to lose 20-25 thousand takas each month in a shop. I was forced to say goodbye to the employees. I also came to this shop in Aziz Market. This is my brother’s shop. There is no profit here either. I was a small-time moneylender but now I have to work.” A similar fate has befallen the fashion houses sprawled along Mirpur-10.

Nur Alam, manager of fashion house ‘Easy’, said, “This time there is nothing to say about Eid or Baishakh. What will people do if they don’t have a chance to go out?” In another local showroom called ‘Grameen Sambhar’, Hridoy Sikder, the store’s manager, said they had made Tk 16,000 worth of sales.

“Two days before Baishakh, products worth more than Tk 200,000 are typically sold. There are about 10 salesmen in the shop. We can now hardly cover the losses, let alone think about profits. People are not buying fashion products. They are paying more attention to essentials, including rice, fish and meat.”

(AA)