Retailers in Dhaka face low sales

Retailers are counting lower sales in Dhaka due to the low turnout of customers amidst a nationwide student movement demanding reforms to the quota system for government jobs.

Traders said the fear of vandalism kept shopkeepers from opening their shops in some areas.

The current situation is undesirable and should be brought to an end quickly in the interest of the country and businesses, they said.

Students of the University of Dhaka and the Jahangirnagar University began staging demonstrations on July 1. Since then, the movement has spread to other public and private universities.

In the latest developments, students of different colleges have also joined the movement.

At least six people were killed in three districts, including in the capital, in clashes between Chhatra League activists and quota reform protesters yesterday.

Two were slain in Dhaka, three in Chattogram and one in Rangpur.

Additionally, a huge number of protesters were seriously injured.

To maintain law and order, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was deployed in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi and Bogura yesterday.

The BGB was deployed to maintain law and order amid the clashes centring the quota reform movement, said Shariful Islam, public relations officer of the BGB.

Dewan Aminul Islam Shaheen, president of the Dhaka New Market Business Owners' Association, said businesses were going through a downturn over the last 8 to 10 days due to the movement.

Customers are terrified of coming to shop, he told The Daily Star, adding that he hoped for a quick resolution to the crisis.

"Buyers are unable to come out of their houses because of the blockades. Many people close their shop at 3:00pm due to a lack of customers. We want the issues to be resolved quickly," he added.

He added that many traders had also suffered financially due to heavy rains and waterlogging over the last couple of days, which turned many products unsuitable for sale.

This includes some furniture stores whose products have become wet and unusable, he said.

Speaking to The Daily Star, retailers at Elephant Road and Aziz Cooperative Supermarket in Shahbagh informed that they were also facing the same situation.

Soumik Das, chief executive officer of clothing and fashion brand Rang Bangladesh, said it was the off-season for clothes sales but added that they were preparing for the upcoming Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival which is set to be held in mid-October.

They have made different offers available on many products so that customers increase purchases and enhance the flow of cash to the production centring the Puja festival, he said.

At the beginning, when sales offers were made available, the response was good, he said.

But after the start of the quota reform movement, sales suddenly dropped by a considerable margin, he added.

One of the big retailers of fashionwear, accessories, home textiles, handicrafts, and handloom-based products in the country, on condition of anonymity, said under the current circumstances, the day-to-day volume of sales has decreased a lot.

"People don't buy our products as much if they are not at peace because these are not necessarily everyday consumer goods," the retailer said.

Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, said the situation for businesses was very bad. In some areas, shops cannot be opened. In other areas where shops are open, buyers are scarce.