Retailers in rush to open stores as Eid nears
Retailers are using the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr not only to rake in as much sales as possible but to also expand their reach by opening new stores.
One such retailer is Amber Lifestyle, which is part of Amber Group, an offspring of Partex Group.
Inaugurated on Friday, the store is spread across 19,000 square feet on Level 1 of Jamuna Future Park, making it possibly the largest in the country.
The group has aimed to launch the brand during Ramadan, when shoppers flock to shopping centres in droves.
“We got only two months to complete the store. We wanted to launch it before Eid so that shoppers at least became aware of the brand,” said MS Hasan, a director of Amber Group, adding that he does not have any specific sales target in mind.
The store sells all sorts of Western wear from men, women and children.
Hasan said their plan is to give local consumers a choice to buy international standard products at far lower prices.
The group plans to open four more Amber Lifestyle stores this year in Dhanmondi, Banani, Old Dhaka and Chittagong.
Another such store was Grameen Uniqlo, which opened on July 11. The store at Jamuna Future Park, which is Grameen Uniqlo's biggest yet in Bangladesh, has already started to attract shoppers in flocks, according to Mohammad Lokman, its sales associate.
Beximco-owned Yellow, Bata and Jennys, one of the fastest growing footwear brands, also opened stores at the shopping centre this month.
Bay Emporium, Apex and Nabarupa inaugurated their largest stores yet, between April and May.
Sales, however, were not as high as one would expect from the country's largest shopping centre, which also has outposts of Cat's Eye, Dorjibari, Artisti, Richman, Lubnan and K-Life.
The retailers though are hopeful that sales will pick up once the shopping centre is officially inaugurated.
Across the city, Infinity Mega Mall, owned by Lubnan Trade Consortium that owns the brand along with Lubnan and Richman, opened a store in Bailey Road, another busy shopping district, in the middle of Ramadan.
Kay Kraft, a popular boutique brand, has opened a store in Jamuna Future Park, re-launched its store in Aziz Super Market and shifted its store in Mirpur to a new and spacious building.
“Lots of people live in Mirpur. So, we want to cater to them as well,” said Khalid Mahmood Khan, of the brand.
He said the sales are good so far, and hopes it would get better as the festival nears.
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