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| October 30, 2005 | Sunday | Ramzan 25, 1426 |
Markets getting better in Peshawar
PESHAWAR, Oct 29: After remaining dull for most part of Ramzan mainly because of the earthquake-triggered effects among consumers, markets in Peshawar have started picking up with the number of shoppers going up with every passing day.
“The market has started doing better at a steady pace,” said Kamran Ahmed, proprietor of a major shoe-outlet.
Though the eid-shopping related activity in local markets is not what it used to be in previous years as human tragedy caused by the Oct 8 earthquake made people to stay away from bazaars and eid festivals, things have started moving in a better direction for the business outlets during the past three days.
“Usually, consumers start thronging Saddar bazaar from the 15th of Ramzan, but this time round it was after the 20th of the Ramzan that our sales started getting better,” said Mushtaq Awan, a salesman at a prominent shopping outlet.
According to a survey conducted in Saddar bazaar and its adjoining Gora Bazaar, Peshawar major shopping centre, with lots of attraction for consumers doing eid shopping — market turn over, this time round, has been 50 per cent less than the previous years.
Owners of major business outlets did not agree that price hike made people to stay from the eid bazaars.
“Prices do not matter much when it comes to eid shopping in a city like Peshawar,” said Bakhtiar Shah, who deals in cloth.
Sitting idle in his shop at 1:00pm on Saturday, Shah said that people were really struck by the human tragedy and the loss of thousands of lives resulted in by the devastating earthquake.
“I have not bought new clothes for the up coming eid because my heart does not allow me to celebrate the festival with usual pump and show,” said Shah. However, Kamran Ahmed appears to be confident of doing business and make recovery from a slow start during the last week of Ramzan.
“Though on comparative terms market turn over is no way near to the previous years’ position, hopefully the business activity would pick up as people have started showing signs of coming out of trauma and agony resulted by the Oct 8 disaster,” said Kamran. However, he conceded that the hustle and bustle witnessed during the last half of Ramzan every year was missing this time round as shopping lanes, bazaars and centres of Peshawar usually full to capacity with consumers has less attracted fewer visitors this time round.
Barring shoe outlets, toy shops and shops dealing in children wares and clothes, businesses offering consumer goods for the grown up are most likely to miss their sales and business targets for the Ramadan month.
“We recorded 50 per cent less business as our sales of eid cards eroded because of the Oct 8 tragedy,” said owner of Saeed Book Bank, Peshawar Saddar.
Similar views were expressed by proprietors a couple of other leading business outlets. They also talked of recording 50 per cent less business this year in comparison with the past.
Sales representatives of a leading shopping outlet said that except for children’s items and clothes, goods on sale for adults were not in demand.
“People are doing shopping for their children as a vast majority from among our outlet’s visitors do not buy items other than kids,” said Muzzamil Hussain, sales representative at a major shopping centre.
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