Anisul Islam Noor :Foreign clothes, saris and jewelries are dominating this year’s Eid markets because of their latest designs and fashions. These are mainly coming from India, China, Pakistan, Thailand and Japan.Prices of these products, especially three piece, Panjabi, sari and ghagra, are ranging between Tk 6000 and Tk30000.The city shopping malls have been swarming with buyers for the last one week and at the same time the traders are happy and are expecting more profit than their estimation.”Buyers, specially youths, are inclining to the locally made (deshi) cotton product, different from previous years”, said Abdul Hoque, a shopkeeper of Fortune Shopping Mall at Malibagh, Dhaka. Hanif Silk at Mirpur 11 sells silk sari and panjab between Tk 450 and Tk 6,000, and Tk1,500 to 45,000 respectively, said Abu Hanif, proprietor of the fashion shop. The sale position is quite satisfactory since the mid Ramadan, he said.Besides, huge readymade cloths for youths and adults with attractive designs are available at the New Market, Gausia, the Rapa Plaza, the Metro Shopping Mall, the Basundhara City Shopping Mall, the Mouchak Market, the Muscut Plaza, the Rajluxmi Market, different boutique shops on both sides of Banani Road No. 11 and Mirpur. The price of each kind of dress is higher than what was last year. She blamed the growing demand, or the shopkeepers’ trend to earn more profit, said Rebeka Akter, a school teacher of Kolabagan in the city.She cut her budget and bought four dresses, two for her two babies, one each for her husband and for herself .The most of the buyers have claimed that the retailers have already raised the prices of Eid items because of increasing demand.Shoppers, some with family members, some with friends and some alone, were seen everywhere from footpath to air-conditioned shops,. Many of them were seen comparing prices, rather than buying the Eid outfits.Long-cut salwar and kamiz is the latest edition, which draws more buyers, said Famida Mansur, a university student, while shopping at Bashundhara City. She bought a long-cut kamiz forTk 4,200.Women and girls were mostly buying Indian stitched or unstitched three-pieces with the price ranging from Tk 2,500 to Tk 8,000.Men and boys were interested in various T-shirts priced Tk 250-1,200, punjabis at Tk 800-4,000. The Jamuna Future Park, the Karnaphuli Garden City, the Twin Tower and the Concord Shopping Complex always murmur with Eid shoppers.Explaining this year’s women’s fashion trend, Selim Haque, a shop owner at Chandni Chowk market, said, long-fringe and lace-fringe sarees are selling well this year.Sarees with chumki and stone-works were also on the lists of good sale. The demand for silk and Jamdani variety still continues. Iftekhar Ahmed, a college student said at Nurjahan Market in New Market area, “Budget is limited. So, I am just comparing the prices of jeans and shirts before final decision.Jamuna Future Park, the largest shopping mall in South Asia, is getting busy as people are going there for best products of the country’s top brands.Low-income group prefer footpath markets at Gulistan, Bangabazar, Dhaka College, Mirpur Section-10 for comparatively lower price. Vendors have erected makeshift shops, which, however, cause inconveniences to the pedestrians.
