KARACHI, Oct 13: Market players offered a mixed view in terms of sales of Eid related items. Shopkeepers report 30-50 per cent decline in their sales as over the last year, while garments and fabric producers looked satisfied with increase in their sales.

Shopkeepers had already reported 50 per cent drop in their sales in the first 20 days of Ramazan. Now some said that sales had picked up in the last one week of the holy month, thus making a slight recovery. However, other complained that sales remained depressed by 50pc this year.

Many shopkeepers were of the view that mushroom growth of make-shift stalls in various old markets were hurting their sales resulting into low turnover as buyers now prefer to purchase Eid related items in the vicinity of their areas rather putting themselves into trouble of parking and traffic jams in main big markets besides having some fear of increasing street crimes.

They said that because of cash shortage in the first 15 days of Ramazan a handsome number of buyers bought through credit cards and this situation was still persisted.

The business environment had been disturbed during the last 20 days of the holy month due to political turmoil, but after presidential elections on October 6, the markets had started witnessed growing rush of buyers.

Another reason of laggard sales of children garments and shoes during the first 20 days was the holding up of 670 containers by the Customs which created shortage and majority of buyers having no market idea bought old stocks at higher prices.

Director Al Karam Textile Mills Iqbal Ibrahim said that his company’s sales remained high this year as compared to last year. Without giving actual sales figures, he said good sales can be gauged from the fact that wholesalers continued to lift our stocks till last days of Ramazan.

Answering a question about any negative impact on local sales due to presence of Indian and other imported gents and ladies suitings, he claimed that consumers have now become quality conscious and they know the quality of Pakistani fabrics which is also competitive in price with foreign goods.

Director Bonanza Garments Industries Hanif Bilwani said his company’s sales, which declined by 20 per cent in the first 20 days, had recovered in the last seven days and even it recorded 10 per cent jump over the last year’s sales.

Replying to a question about shopkeepers are clamouring for steep drop in sales, he said actually buyers, whose income levels had increased, were now shifting to high profile markets. “A Saddar Bazar customer now prefers to shop branded items from Tariq Road and Bahdurabad markets.”

Chairman Tariq Road Traders Action Committee Siddiq Memon said Eid sales in 30 days of Ramazan had fallen by 30 per cent over the previous year’s sales. However, sales in first 20 days had dropped by 40 per cent.

“Total sales of Tariq Road should have ranged between Rs2.5-3.0 billion this year but it recorded only Rs2 billion turnover,” he said while claiming to have checked sales receipts of their members.

He attributed the dwindling sales this year to rising food inflation coupled with intense political situation and cash problems during the first 20 days of Ramazan.

He said an estimated 4.5 million people had registered their presence at Tariq Road in which window shoppers were in higher numbers. Even the genuine buyers were seen indulging in heavy bargains from the shopkeepers.

President Saddar Co-operative Market Society Mohammad Feroz again reiterated that buyers’ presence had remained 50 per cent less throughout the holy month as compared to last year owing to political unrest coupled with falling buying power.

Nasir Salim, owner of Liberty Store in Bahadurabad, said that after weak sales in the first 20 days of Ramazan, the massive buying during last week had boosted sales to normal level as compared to last year. He ruled out that political instability had restricted buyers from shopping and added that people had to meet their kids’ requirement at any cost irrespective of political chaos.

Owner of Delhi House in Saddar and Wardrobe in Bahdurabad, Mohammad Nasim Arfeen said that despite some recovery in the last 10 days, the overall sales this year had declined by 25-30 per cent.

Political uncertainty ahead of the holy month and rising prices of essential items had a negative impact on the Eid related items’ sales. Actually many customers had started Eid buying 15 days ahead of Ramazan, he added.