E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, OCT 04 -

Despite the throngs of frenzied Dashain shoppers rushing about Kathmandu’s marketplaces, retailers have complained that business is slower than last year. According to shopkeepers, sales are down 15 percent this year.

Massive footfalls at shopping complexes have not translated into actual sales. Stores at City Centre, United World Trade Centre (UWTC) and Pashupati Plaza and other large retailers like UFO and Roots Fashion have reported disappointing business unlike past trends during the festival extravaganza. “We were expecting at least a two-fold growth in sales during Dashain. However, business is down more than 40 percent compared to the last Dashain,” said Ritesh Agrawal, one of the shopkeepers at City Centre, Kamal Pokhari.

Agrawal, who has been in the retail business for the last eight years, said that this was one of the most disappointing Dashains for them as the market failed to respond positively.  Agrawal attributed the slowdown in sales to the recent rains. “Because of rain, customers hesitated to visit the market. The downpours disturbed us during peak time,” Agrawal said.

Likewise, UFO, which maintains 10 retail outlets in Kathmandu and five outside the valley, has also reported moderate sales. “Due to our brand name, we did not see a decline. But as far as growth in sales is concerned, we did not see any jump in sales,” said Sachin Shrestha, brand manager at UFO clothing. Sunil Dangol, director of Roots Fashion, sole authorised dealer of Adidas in Nepal, said, “Business plunged 20 to 25 percent during this Dashain.” Roots Fashion operates eight exclusive Adidas stores and various other clothing outlets in the valley.   

Mall owners too said that there had been a significant reduction in footfall. “We have been conducting various programmes to attract visitors during the festival shopping season. We have been quite successful in doing that. However, the figures are not satisfactory,” said Rajesh Lamichhane, chief general manager of City Centre. According to him, footfall at the mall was around 13,000 on Sunday.

According to Agrawal, the mall is witnessing a good number of visitors, but they are struggling to meet even the satisfactory mark in terms of sales. “People are visiting the mall for entertainment purposes rather than making purchases,” he said. “We see most visitors heading off to the multiplex, food court and gaming zones.”

Likewise, one of the shopkeepers at a leading clothing store at UWTC said that business at the mall had gone down massively compared to past years. “Due to the rise in the number of shopping malls and our location, our customers seem to be shifting,” he added.

Posted on: 2011-10-04 08:49

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