Scared shoppers send sales plummeting

Dhaka city’s shopping scene has changed, and changed radically.

Customer influx and overflow in the upscale shopping malls have undergone a drastic transformation after a series of attacks, as well as security threat hoaxes on the social networking sites.
Businesspersons and staff of various shops, including restaurants and cafes, clothing stores, and other outlets at different shopping malls and markets informed Prothom Alo that sales

had plummeted after the 1 July Gulshan restaurant attack.

“Our sales have gone down 55 per cent. I would definitely blame the hoaxes circulated in social networking sites for low visitor turnout,” said a staffer of clothing store Jotey at Basundhara City shopping mall.

“Low, very low,” said Shaon, manager of Tanzim Street at the mall while asked about sales, adding, “Our sales have dropped 70 per cent.”

Urbashee Simi, a lawyer, is quite a shopper and when it comes to shopping, Bashundhara City tops her list.
However, for the past few days she has been calling up her friends and relatives to warn them against visiting upscale shopping malls. Rumours circulated through social networking sites about security threats at malls got her too.

“I even 0stopped visiting shopping malls for a while. Then gradually I convinced myself that it was a hoax and we need to carry on with our lives,” said Simi, shopping at a store in Basundhara City on Thursday.
The very long queue at one entrance of the mall did not exactly match with the scenario inside the mall.
On a visit to the mall, these correspondents found visitor turnout is lower than usual inside the mall.

General manager (admin) of Bashundhara City Development Limited, Mollah Mustak Reza told Prothom Alo that security measures have been doubled after the militant attack on Holey Artisan restaurant.

“We’re not even allowing any cigarette lighters inside the mall. Some 17 to 22 policemen are on duty every day. I would say we are satisfied with the security we are providing,” he said.
But the extra security check boomerangs on the mall business.

The queue gets longer, much longer, than usual because each visitor has to go through extra security check at the entrance before entering the mall.
Various store managers at the shopping mall also blamed the extra security checks for low customer turnout.

“Extra security checks force people to stand in long queues. That is a deterrent to a certain class of customers,” said Mizanur Rahman, an in-charge at the Hush Puppies Shop.
“Who would like standing in the hot sun or in the rain to go shopping?” asked the annoyed staff.
Business persons at another upscale shopping mall Jamuna Future Park at capital’s Pragati Sharani, said they are facing losses as well, due to low visitor turnout.

“We haven’t sold a single product today,” said Hedayet Hossain, the exasperated owner of Kiddo at Jamuna Future Park, few minutes before mall was about to close for the day, “If this keeps up, I might have to shut down my business here.”

Staff at Red Kitchen, an eatery at the mall, said their sales had gone down to the level at which they had started. They were back to square one.

“We don’t usually see profits immediately after we start a business. We really didn’t have many customers when we started. Gradually our business started thriving. However, this whole security threat issue has brought down our business to the point where we started,” said restaurant manager Riad.

One of their customers visited Red Kitchen with her family after a long hiatus. Quoting her, Riad said, “She said she somehow screwed up the courage to come over.”

Saifuddin, in-charge of Cat’s Eye, said security has been beefed up manifold which probably leads the customers not to shop at Jamuna Future Park.
Several other staffs of different shops at the mall came up with the same observation: business is bleak.
Murder inside a market may not be common in Bangladesh, but it’s nothing new either.
Publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, 45, was stabbed and killed by miscreants on the 2nd floor of Aziz Super Market in the city’s Shahbagh area past year.
Recent militant attacks has caused low shopper turnout at Aziz Super Market too.

“We are not used to with this kind of drop in sales. Usually, post-Eid, we sell products worth Tk 10,000 to 20,000 per day, but, this year sales have gone down to Tk 5,000 per day,” said the manager of Dhanshalik, a clothing store at Aziz Super Market.

One of the staff at Dhanmandi Hawkers’ market, the busiest market in the city, Sayedur said. “You are right that post Eid-ul-Fitr the shopping stores see lesser number of customer turnout, but it’s very low compared to previous years.”

“It is 6 o’clock. I have sold just a single product so far. Yesterday, I had my first sale at 8:00pm,” he added.