After losing their seasonal sales on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh due to the coronavirus pandemic, the fashion and boutique industry is facing uncertainty over business viability during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, according to insiders.
Local fashion and boutique brands usually get prepared with collections of various fashion items ahead of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year, and make a good volume of business out of those.
But this year the scenario is totally different as Bangla New Year will not be celebrated in the country as the government urged all citizens to follow social distancing guidelines and avoid any mass gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Following a small number of shoppers since last week of February as an effect of the coronavirus pandemic and closure of businesses since March 26, local fashion industry incurred losses of about Tk 20 billion on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh, sector insiders said.
Now they fear even bigger damage to their business if the spread of the viral disease doesn't slow down before Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims in the country.
Fashion Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (FEAB) president Md Shahin Ahmed said Pahela Baishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr are major occasions for the country's fashion industry, but coronavirus may ruin the chance of doing business this year.
"The local fashion brands are expecting a loss of over Tk 20 billion only during the time of Pahela Baishakh," he told the FE.
The entrepreneurs of the country's fashion industry devise their annual business plans centring Bangla New Year and Eid-ul-Fitr, he said, adding: "Closure of businesses for long-term will push us to the edge."
He said, "If the industry misses the chance of doing business during Eid, the losses will be five to eight times higher than that of Pahela Baishakh."
Referring to the government's coronavirus stimulus package, Mr Ahmed urged the authorities concerned to allocate Tk 5.0 billion interest-free fund for one year for the fashion industry to pay wages to workers for next three months.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 5 announced a Tk 200 billion stimulus package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for recovering from pandemic losses.
There are over 5,000 organisations in the local fashion industry where more than half a million people work directly, the FEAB president added.
"Many have already lost their part-time jobs in shopping malls and boutique shops while owners of different shops are burdened with unsold collections, bills of weavers and space rents," he mentioned.
Most of these fashion retails were ready with their new collections of punjabi, fatua, saree, salwar kamiz, ornaments, cosmetics and footwear on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh but they didn't even have the chance to start business, Mr Ahmed said.
All shops selling non-essential goods remained closed since March 26 after the government announced holidays which will initially continue till April 14 and may get extension, depending on the situation.
Usually, Dhaka's fashion hubs like Bailey Road, Mirpur-10, Dhanmondi, New Market, Gausia, Bashundhara City Shopping Mall, Rajlakkhi in Uttara buzz with shoppers ahead of Pahela Baishakh but this year all these places were seen deserted.
Furthermore, a good number of boutique shops are owned and operated by women entrepreneurs in the country.
Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (WEAB) president Shahruk Rahman said, "Most of the women-led fashion houses falls in the category of small business and they usually target special occasions like Pahela Baishakh to do the whole year's business."
Women-led businesses face more problems than others, she said, adding that the government should announce special incentive package especially for women entrepreneurs.
Ms. Shahruk also said the government should give special attention to local weavers and artists who make fabrics like khadi, silk, cotton, muslin, benarasi and jamdani for fashion retails.
