Sales of clothes have started picking up at different fashion and boutique houses in the city ahead of Pahela Baishakh, the country's biggest cultural festival.
On the occasion of Bangla New Year, various colourful wears and accessories have been put on display at different outlets for fashion-loving buyers.
"Like previous years, we have displayed new collections at our showroom, highlighting shoppers' choices," said Kaniz Fatima, a saleswoman of Deshiya at Aziz Super Market.
She said sales are going up gradually at her outlet. But main transaction will start after April 10.
All festival clothes have been made based on red-white fabrics. Aplic, embroidery and painting works have been applied to maximum wears.
Prices of lady's kurti range from Tk 1,150 to Tk 1,450 while salwar kameez from Tk 2,250 to Tk 2,350, saree from Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,450, Punjabi from Tk 1,150 to Tk 1,450 and kids' items from Tk 550 to Tk 1,250.
Methopoth, another outlet at the same market, is mainly selling women's dresses. Sumi, manager of the shop, said their sales are yet to gather momentum. Within 2-3 days, they will start selling clothes in full swing, she hoped.
The fashion house is selling saree at Tk 1,200-Tk 1550, salwar kameez at Tk 1,800-Tk 2,390, and kurti at Tk 700-Tk 1,290.
Salwar kameez for kids (age ranging from 2 to 12 years) is being sold at Tk 1,000-Tk 1,100 and kurti at Tk 500-Tk 600 each.
Grameen Uniqlo has offered discount on its dresses to attract shoppers. Tahmida, salesperson at Dhanmondi branch in the city, said they were getting customers as per expectations on Friday.
Due to discount, buyers have started thronging her showroom since the morning. Such crowd will continue until their shops close, she hoped.
However, some traders have expressed mixed reaction saying that they are not getting buyers as expected. Comparing to previous years, they said sales declined to some extent than that of last year.
Kay Kraft manager MA Jinnah said customers are visiting his showroom, but they are not purchasing anything.
"I don't know the reason why the business is so dull this year," he said, adding that every year they get a significant number of customers ahead of Pahela Baishakh.
They have taken a massive preparation to draw attention of buyers. Multi-colours wears have been put on display at his showroom, he mentioned.
"If sales do not pick up, we will incur loss," he added.
Salesmen of some fashion houses like Poridhi and Nandan Kutir said they are waiting for the next week when the number of shoppers may increase.
