The slump in the market seems to have hit Diwali and Bhai Phota sales. Across categories, from dry fruits hampers to costly electronic goods, shops are reporting a dip in sales. The preference seems to be for the more economically priced commodities. Gold and silver merchants are keeping their fingers crossed hoping for a turnaround in saled on Dhanteras. The Telegraph Salt Lake takes a tour of the markets.

Dry fruits

Staff at Parampara in CB Block, are busy packing trays and baskets without stopping to count the number. “People who come for up to five baskets want to pick them up on the spot so these are for them. Others want up to 50 packets and often ask us to deliver them within Salt Lake,” said Alok Jhunjhunwala, who runs the store.

But he admits that the state of the economy has effected sales. “Sales are up to 20 per cent less this year,” he says. And despite the temptation of imported and hand-made chocolates and decorative candles, traditional gifts — almonds, raisins, cashew and pistachios — still rule the roost. “At most, chocolates are used to bolster the reduced dry fruits in the hamper.”

City Centre’s Bhagya Lakshmi too is a busy place. “Sales are intact but prices have risen,” says Sulav Ganeriwal. “Customers usually have a fixed budget in their mind for gifts. They may be willing to spend Rs 1,000 per gift hamper every year. To keep up with market forces we may have to reduce the size of the hamper.”

The price range of their gift baskets begins from Rs 280 (comprising 200g of the four main fruits) and the sky’s the limit on the upper side. “We expect sales to take off at the last minute as no one wants to stock up on baskets at home,” he says.

Electronics

Srikanta Biswas, manager at Capital Electronics near Ultadanga Crossing, said: “The market for electronics is pretty bad. We have recorded a 40 per cent fall in sales from last Diwali. This is the worst we have seen in a very long time. Usually this is the period when we record the highest sales but not anymore.”

The condition of the market is such that electronic products are now looked upon as luxury items. Only when people have extra money, after meeting all other essential costs, do they actually splurge. For example, an LED TV can be upgraded to a Smart TV only if one has enough money at the end of the day, after meeting all other requirements of the family. Most shopowners say that the lack of jobs and guaranteed salaries has led to this condition of their business.

Agreed Jyotirmoy Sen of Chakraborty Electronics in CE Block in Salt Lake: “Most people want to save their cash for rainy days. Companies like LG and Philips are not hiring salespersons for their counters at other retail outlets. It is as if, the need is being deliberately brought down to create a vacuum in demand and supply ratio. Cash flow has gone down rapidly in the last six months.”

Products which are sensibly positioned and priced are doing well.

Bonanza, in the swimming pool area, already has Carvaan gift-wrapped and waiting to be taken home. Saregama Carvaan is a radio-like portable music player that has taken the market by storm. They have a collection of 5000 pre-loaded songs of the golden era from the Saregama (HMV) repertoire.

“We sell innumerable units for Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day and the like and a few days ago a customer came and bought three Carvaan minis for Bhai Phota. The mini version is the size of a walkman and has segmented music such as Rabindrasangeet, devotional and old film songs. “Though the Carvaan sells well, there is no use gifting a second so people are now preferring the mini,” said owner Paresh Lal. “Plus with the market down, people are happily looking at cheaper alternatives.” The Carvaan costs about Rs 6,000 and mini around Rs 2,000.

Music card, a Rs 699 pen drive with eight to 10 hours of pre-loaded songs, is another practical gift. “It is cost-effective and can be easily plugged into the car’s music system,” says Lal.

He also mentions Fire TV Stick, that can be connected to non-smart TVs and used to watch films and web series on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. It costs Rs 3,999.

Tinted sunglasses

Dry fruit hampers

Carvaan musical offerings

Trendy bags at Mumuso

Accessories

Mumuso, a youth-centric lifestyle store in City Centre, recorded a jump in sales during Rakhi and are anticipating a rerun for Bhai Phota. “Our bags — totes, backpacks, sling bags — sold very well for Rakhi,” said Sanjib Sadhu, franchise owner of the Korean store. “Our products are differently designed and are high on the cute factor.” The bags are priced between Rs 700 and 900.

Ximi Vogue, another store in City Centre, has cat eye-shaped sunglasses as well as those in geometric shapes. “Tinted lenses, in colours such as yellow, are doing well now,” said the man behind the counter. They cost about Rs 550. Stuffed toys, doubling as pillows, are a runaway hit for siblings too.

Gold and silver

Gold rates are expected to hover around Rs 38,500 per 10g during Dhanteras and Diwali this year. However, after the slump in the gold market in the last two months, Diwali sales are expected to pick up. Rates are expected to stay stable too. Government policies have also changed raising hopes of even a fall in gold prices after Diwali.

Said Chiranjib Sen of Senco Alankaar in AE Block in Salt Lake, “These days everyone is aware of what is going on all around. Dhanteras is a chiefly non-Bengali ritual. But Calcutta, being the cosmpolitan city it is, even Bengalis are using the occasion to buy gold and silver. Dhanteras covers the October 25-26 period. Earlier, the buying and selling used to take place during the whole Diwali week. These days, it is concentrated on these two days of Dhanteras. People make their bookings in advance and collect their orders on the day.”

So has the slowdown not affected the gold market this time? “Sale of gold is directly proportional to the internal demand of the country. Most of our customers are salaried people who buy gold as a custom. We are expecting the market to look up during Diwali,” he added.

As is the custom with most households, senior citizens in the family directly influence occasions and choice of gold items. Contrary to the age -groups of clients in shops selling other kinds of commodities, they are the ones who will actually flock at jewellery stores during Diwali and Dhanteras. People in the age group of 25-50 have ready cash to spend, but they spend it on gold on the advice of senior family members.

A spokesperson of B. Ramdeo and Co Bhatter in Sector I revealed that among the non-Bengali clientele, buying silver on Dhanteras is a big thing. “Silver is supposed to be auspicious and is supposed to bring luck and good business for the enterprise. Every year we sell silver plates, idols of Lakshmi and Ganesh and other silverware. Diwali hopefully will stabilise the market and things will look up. It is the best time in the year to buy silver,” he added.