High footfalls in Chattogram Eid markets delight traders

With the Eid-ul-Fitr around the corner, the apparel and footwear traders in Chattogram are sitting tight with high hopes to make a business upturn as early shoppers throng various markets of the port city.

Eid is about three weeks away, but the wholesalers of clothing and footwear markets in Chattogram have nearly run out of stocks. With the situation improving after two years of pandemic closure, almost all the shopping malls, from air-conditioned ones to street ones, are witnessing high consumer turnout.

Leaders of trade associations in Chattogram said the main goal is to make up for the losses they have incurred during the coronavirus pandemic in the last two years. The traders have reportedly injected around Tk10,000 crore in the market on the occasion of Eid, including Tk1000 crore brand new investment, with a hope to make at least Tk5,000 crore of trades (wholesale and retail combined).

The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam told The Business Standard, "We do not have any specific data or research on the investment amount. However, from the experience of being in the sector for a long time, I believe the Eid shopping in Chattogram this time will exceed Tk5,000 crore."

About 50% of the 15,000 shops in Reazuddin Bazar, the largest Eid market in Chattogram for clothes and shoes, are wholesalers. Of them, Hasina Shopping, Binimoy Tower, Rahman Mansion, Paramount City and Saleh Mansion are prominent wholesalers of clothes and shoes. Apart from garment factories in Dhaka and Chattogram, traders here import goods from Thailand, Singapore, China, India, Pakistan and Dubai.

Mozammel Haque, joint general secretary of Tamakumandi Lane Merchant Association, told The Business Standard, "Many traders in Chattogram went bankrupt in the last two years. To make a rebound, some of them have invested in the Eid market by taking loans from banks or persons and selling lands. Traders have been importing goods from home and abroad a month before Ramadan. Many are selling products made in their factories."

"The wholesale clothing market in Chattogram became fully active right after Shab-e-Barat, celebrated on the 15th night of the month of Shaban. Traders of Reazuddin Bazar are already in the final stage of sales as their products have reached various markets in 11 districts of greater Chattogram. Retailers have also become busy as buyers began to browse the markets even before Ramadan," said Abdul Qayum, a wholesaler of Binimoy Tower in Reazuddin Bazar.

A few years ago, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) said the size of the country's Eid economy is around Tk25,000 crore.

Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity Chattogram president Saleh Ahmed Solaiman said, "Aside from the wholesale markets, there are 15 posh and 56 general shopping centres in Chattogram city. As many as 101 organisations in the city and district are under the shop owners' association. Centering Eid, the total estimated sale in these shops and shopping malls will be at least Tk5,000 crore."

He said, "Eid market could not flourish for the last two years due to Covid restrictions but there are no restrictions this time around and the economy is getting better. Thus, people began Eid shopping a few days before Ramadan which is very hopeful for us."

Iqbal Hossain, general secretary of Akhtaruzzaman Center Dokan Malik Samity, told The Business Standard, "We have 260 small and large shops in the market. On the occasion of Eid, small shops have invested Tk20-25 lakh while large shops invested Tk50 lakh to one crore."

Mimi Super Market is one of the posh shopping malls in the port city. Zakir Hossain, president of the market's Dokan Malik Samity, said almost every one of the 273 shops in the market has invested over Tk1-1.5 crore.

Swapan Muhuri, chief adviser and coordinator of the Eid sales festival committee of Afmi Plaza- another posh market, said, "We sell mostly foreign products. With around Tk1000 crore investment, traders are looking forward to returning to business overcoming the pandemic recession."

The Tamakumundi Lane and the Hawker's Market in the Kotwali area of ​​the city, the preferred markets of the middle and lower classes, have also taken on a new look ahead of Eid. This market is equally popular with everyone as everything from clothes and shoes to cosmetics, crockery, plastics, and electronics products are available here.

Mozammel Haque, joint general secretary of the Tamakumandi Lane Merchants Association, said, "There are thousands of shops in Tamakumandi Lane. It is difficult to say how much money is being traded during this huge event, but we believe that more than Tk1.5 crore is traded every day during Ramadan and the amount will increase further after the 15th of Ramadan."

Abul Kalam Azad, the proprietor of Big Bazar, said, "We have imported clothes and shoes from China, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. The total investment stands at over Tk1 crore and we expect a reasonable profit."

Teri Bazar, the largest wholesale and retail market for readymade garments in Chattogram, has about 2,000 shops scattered in 90 small and large markets. Major Mega shops in the city have also been set up in Teri Bazar. 

Aminul Haque, president of Teri Bazar Business Association, said, "Teri Bazar has the largest stock of local and foreign clothes. The transactions here will be more than Tk1000 crore this Eid."