Mumbai bazaars as crowded as ever but sales take a hit

The famous Crawford market in south Mumbai is as crowded as it gets on any given day. In fact, most shopkeepers hardly have any time to talk with customers.

But this year, traders engaged in selling garments to gold say pre-Diwali sales are down by nearly 50 per cent.

While some say the trend started with demonetisation and worsened with GST, others say it could be anyone's guess why people are not buying. "In four days of Diwali, everyone just sees the crowds and think that people are buying. Only after these days pass that one knows what is the scenario," says Nalin Doshi, a cloth shop owner in the crowded Shaikh Memon Street, opposite the Crawford Market.

"If they (customers) would buy two clothes last year, they are buying just one this time. Most people are buying clothes only for their children," he says.

Traders selling leather products, gift bags and footwear, from Crawford Market to Colaba, echoed the sentiment.

"The business is down by 50 per cent," claims Jayesh Jain, sales manager at Mehta and Sons, a jewellery shop in the famous Zaveri Bazaar.

"It is the reality since demonetisation took place. People are just not spending. You can attribute that to demonetisation or GST or any other thing. There is hardly any order," says Bhavesh Jain, of Rajmani Jewellers, also in Zaveri Bazaar.

In Colaba, M Vakhariya, who owns a leather goods business, says: "We thought that people who make electronic payments won't be affected too much but that is not the case. I have not given any bonus this year."

Hiro Balani, who owns a dress shop, says: "The added GST has taken more out of the industry. A number of people feel that cloth should be cheaper, which is not the case."

At Citywalk, one of the prominent footwear stores in Colaba, shop manager A Amjad says: "We have just not been getting any customers. If demonetisation took away 50 per cent of business, GST brought it further down to 25 per cent."

There are, however, some exceptions as well. Vanraj Kalapi, owner of Cotton Colors, says, "If prices are competitive, people buy."

Ritesh Ghosal, CMO, Infiniti Retail Limited(Croma), says: "With an improved customer buying sentiment after GST, we are delighted to already record a growth in the Diwali period."

"The premium segment continues to witness strong demand with a higher double digit growth as we expect categories such as 50 inch plus LED TVs, smartphones, and high-end laptops to witness strong traction in the market this season."