Muhammad Saleem

High cost of raw material and galloping inflation have put a damper on Faisalabad's men's/women's suiting business, bringing losses to the wholesalers and retailers. Talking to WealthPK, Haroon Zahid, a fabric dealer who plies his trade at the Chiragh Market, Rail Bazaar, said he had had a range of loyal customers who placed their orders telephonically and paid him the charges online or by paying a visit to the shop. "We invite our customers to visit our shop as soon we receive a new variety. Our workers are skilled and they weave elegant fabrics for both sexes. Owing to this factor, Faisalabad's textile sector is thriving both locally and globally," Haroon said. "The women's suit attracts investors every year to invest like they do in the real estate sector to amass handsome profits. However, this year, they could not make profit owing to inflation," he added. Nadeem Ali, who operates in Wakeelan Wali Gali —a wholesale market for women's suits, said the business was down this year due to the skyrocketing price-hike.

He said from weaving to designing and printing, they tried to keep the entire process perfect so as to please their customers but despite all these efforts, the clients were not responding as per their expectations this year. "Owing to the pressure being exerted by our investors, we have offered our customers to collect the suits on deferred payments, but they are not willing to take a risk sensing the market sentiment and customers' sluggish behavior," he added. Misbah Bibi, who dwells in a small village near Shorkot, Jhang, visits Faisalabad's apparel market twice a month to purchase women's suits for her clients. She earns a handsome amount by selling simple/fancy suits to the customers who visit her from different villages. Talking to WealthPK, she said Covid-19 forced her to open a shop at her home so that she could help her husband who lost his business due to the restrictions. Like Misbah Bibi, Kulsoom Hamid is also earning handsomely through hand-embroidered fancy suits.

However, her business is down these days due to the high cost of raw materials and inflation. Talking to WealthPK, Kulsoom said shopkeepers would place orders with her for hand-embroidered ladies' suiting, but nowadays she was not getting any orders due to the low customer demand. Similarly, she said the families that used to place orders for marriage ceremonies and other functions were using the old stuff in their wardrobes. However, well-off families still send her orders — though occasionally. Misbah Bibi said she invested Rs50,000 for the first time and purchased ladies' cut-pieces from the Factory Area and now had fabric worth over Rs200,000. "I am planning to sell online rather than offering my products to the local customers only," she added. Talking to WealthPK, Abdul Ghafoor, the Embroidery Association President, said business was in a slow lane this year, as the customers were not opting for new designs due to inflation. He said replicas and brand suits no longer fancied the customers despite the fact that scores of new and attractive designs were available in the market at affordable rates.

Credit: INP-WealthPk