THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Christmas fast approaching, festive mood is on in the capital. After almost two years of poor business owing to the pandemic, the city markets are finally back on track this Christmas season giving fresh hopes for the traders, who were one of the worst hit by the lockdowns.
With Christmas just days away, the traders are already recording brisk business with almost every shop swarmed by customers.
Traders are looking forward to good business during the coming weekend. The shops are all decked up with a wide range of crib sets, stars, lightings, trees and other decorations to spice up this years’ Christmas-New Year season.
According to traders, they are struggling to meet the growing demands of the customers for Christmas festivities including tree ornaments, stars, lights and Christmas trees.
"I have sold 70% of my stock and the business is good compared to previous years. We are finally getting back on our feet. The pandemic has been very harsh to us. Now the demand is more and I will go out of stock in a couple of days. I have been struggling sourcing the Christmas stock as the wholesale dealers are unable to supply the demand placed by us. Now it’s too late to place new order. I take stock from Mumbai and because of the ban on Chinese products there is a shortage in supply," said Abdullah S, a trader at Palayam Connemara Market.
The market is flooded with LED stars, hanging decorative items, wreaths, trees and tree ornaments. Paper stars are available for Rs 5 to Rs 250 while the prices of LED stars range from Rs 75 to Rs 500.
According to traders, the cost of Christmas decorative items has gone up by 20%. This year, the market is loaded with a new range of tree ornaments and are available for prices ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 50.
“LED star is the new trend and it’s been like that during the past three seasons. But now, there is a demand for paper stars too. There is huge demand for Christmas wreaths and banners and the prices range between Rs 75 and Rs 800,” added Abdullah.
Sabeer Hussain, a trader who has been running a shop at Chalai for the past 40 years, said that the retail market is doing good but the wholesale market is still dull.
“We source the items from Bengaluru and Chennai but the availability of is less. If we place an order for 200 pieces, they give us only half the quantity. But the market is steady which is good,” said Hussain.
He said there is a scarcity of crib sets. “We normally source them from Madurai and because of the rain, the production is less. The demand is huge,” said Hussain.
State secretary of Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (KVVES) S S Manoj said the business is better.
“There are no Christmas get-togethers and functions at schools and other institutions and this would definitely impact the overall Christmas business. The traders are apprehensive regarding the opening of the new mall. When the mall opened in Kochi, the local traders suffered business loss,” said Manoj.
Joy V, who has been selling Christmas cribs near University College for the past 13 years, said that the business is good. The prices of cribs range from Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,000.
“The cribs are manufactured in Kollam. Last year, I sold around 120 cribs. The small ones are fast moving compared to huge ones,” said Joy.