VIJAYAWADA: Diwali is a festival of lights, gifts, joy and prosperity. Generally, traders look forward for Diwali season as it boosts their business. However, this year the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the traders hard and they are finding it difficult to sustain in their business.
“Every year the sales increase during Vinayaka Chavithi. After a gap of a month or so, the sales get a boost during Dasara. We made a profit of about Rs 15 crore in Dasara season last year and did nearly Rs 20 crore business on the day of Lakshmi Puja in all our branches in Andhra Pradesh. All our branches in the state could make a profit of just Rs 5 crore during Dasara season this year,” Shyam Kumar, manager of Vijayawada branch of one of the leading jewellery store chains in the country, told The New Indian Express.
He further said generally a week before Lakshmi Puja, the store receives several customers to buy silver coins with the image of Goddess Lakshmi in bulk, but this year they have not even received 50 per cent of orders compared to last Diwali season.
“Last year, we produced 10 lakh silver coins in AP alone. As we got less number of orders this year, we have produced just 3.5 lakh coins so far,” he said.
Similarly, supermarkets, clothing and accessories brands which also earn handsome profits through gift vouchers given to employees, have recorded lower sales this time.
“We get orders from seven private companies for Diwali vouchers every year in Vijayawada. But this year only two of them placed the orders,” said Dhanalakhsmi, manager of one of the supermarkets in the city.
However, some businesses have recorded a slight increase in their sales since Dasara.
“Flowers are one of the essential things that people cannot ignore, especially during festivals. Flowers are required for everyday puja. We incurred huge losses during the Covid-induced lockdown. But the sales picked up quite well from Vinayaka Chavithi and improved further since Dasara. Though we are not earning equal to what we earned during the last festival season, but the drop in sales is just 10 to 20 per cent. Hence, we are optimistic that it will level-up with previous year’s sales during Diwali season,” said Raju, a flower vendor.
Similarly, mobile shops are doing good business.
“We have come up with discount offers, more than what we give during Diwali every year. We are offering free electronic gadgets and SIM cards with new mobile phones. This has attracted a quite number of customers and our business is thriving,” said manager of a mobile shop in Vijayawada.
According to economists, all businesses, except a few, will take time to get a boost and normalise as people’s purchasing power has declined due to Covid. The sales will gain momentum only when salary cuts to employees are rolled back and yearly incentives and bonus are resumed. The traders are hopeful of getting good business from Lakshmi Puja onwards.