Telangana: Raincoat Sales Take A Rain Check
For retailers, unsold stock means money tied up in goods they cannot return: Reports
HYDERABAD: Raincoat traders were left with unsold stock after showers they had hoped Cyclone Arnab would bring failed to materialise, compounding a poor sales season that began with the El Nino hit monsoon. Traders said even a drizzle could have brought in office-goers as well as parents to buy rainwear for schoolchildren.
Deepesh Kumar Panasari of DP Enterprise said retail sales had fallen to less than a quarter of the usual. Corporate buyers, however, had placed their regular orders, he said. Wholesalers also supplied stock to places affected by rain, floods and cyclones.
For retailers, unsold stock means money tied up in goods they cannot return. Mohammad Ismail of BMS Garments said stockists did not accept returns once retailers had bought the merchandise.
Ismail said most unbranded raincoats came from Kolkata and sold in large quantities because of their lower prices. Such slumps were familiar whenever the monsoon disappointed, he said, adding that each of his stores had sold between 7,000 and 10,000 raincoats last year.