Baishakh sales of fashion brands and retailers took a hit for the second year in succession as the COVID-19 pandemic has kept a majority of customers at bay.
Media reports claimed this citing sector people even as it maintained that despite the Government relaxing some restrictions — Bangladesh has imposed several restrictions in face of a spurt in new coronavirus cases in the country even as a 7-day strict lockdown will ensue from 14 April to prevent the spread of coronavirus — and shops opening since 9 April, there’s no respite as large number of buyers, reportedly, preferred to stay put at home and give shopping a miss.
It may be mentioned here that after Eid-ul-Fitr, Pahela Baishakh is the second-largest sales season in Bangladesh during which fashion brands and small traders do substantial business.
Speaking to the media, Director of Kay Kraft (one of the leading local fashion brands), Khalid Mahmood Khan said, “The seasonality in sales that we were accustomed to seeing ahead of Baishakh in the past is absent this year,” even as he went on to underline that this year’s overall sales would be half of Baishakh sales recorded in normal times while the Chief Operating Officer of Aarong (a chain store), Mohammad Ashraful Alam, on his part added sales have lost momentum since the news of the 1-week lockdown broke.
