Surat, said to be the hub of Indian man-made fibre (MMF) industry, recorded good business in apparel retail sales during Diwali, the festival of lights, which was celebrated on October 26 this year.
Overall, the city recorded a retail business of approximately Rs. 2.5 billion during Diwali, which included the spending on clothes and garments, in addition to other smaller items like sweets, crackers and gifts.
Briefing about the apparel retail business during the festival, Mr. Barkat Panjwani, Chairman - Retail Trade, Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) told fibre2fashion, “The garment industry saw more customers from the mid-level segment compared to the high-end. The higher segment was a little low profile and there were negligible sales in this segment. Middle, lower middle and higher middle classes were the main consumers for the apparel and fashion industry.”
Explaining the reason for late picking up of demand, Mr. Panjwani said, “The demand was seen only during the last five days before the festival, instead of the usual 10-15 days. It was because many people got their salaries just 4-5 days before the festival.”
“While the diamond workers received their salaries during the last 5 days ahead of the festival, some government departments paid salaries to their employees 7 days in advance and offered double pay in the form of Diwali bonus. Obviously, this increased the purchasing power as people had ready money to spend,” he explained.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
20240830145952.gif)
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "UBM China (Shanghai)")
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
