The retail racks have been robbed of the Yuletide spirit

The city’s retail sector is missing its favourite customer in the season of festive buying: the non-resident Calcuttan.

A significant drop in the arrival of the homebound crowd — particularly the NRIs — in the run-up to Christmas and New Year has affected a plethora of sales counters in the city. From books, music and videos to fine dining, apparel and travel, every segment has taken a hit.

Travel agencies have reported a 20 per cent decline in the arrival of NRIs and foreigners, partly because many countries have advised their citizens against travelling to India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. “The downturn in the world economy is the main reason but fear is a factor, too. Many residents of Calcutta have also cancelled their holiday plans,” said Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India.

The overseas crowd usually lands in town around this time of the year, loaded with dollars and the desire to splurge. “NRI footfall has dropped 20 to 25 per cent this December and that has had a significant impact on our business. We fear December sales will decline around 25 per cent, compared with last year,” said Gautam Jatia of Starmark.“The average NRI spends not less than Rs 5,000 in one visit. Sometimes, the bill goes up to Rs 20,000.”

The absence of the overseas crowd has left a bad taste in the mouth of the restaurant business, too. “Fine dining has been affected by the dwindling NRI traffic this December,” said Debasish Ghosh, the regional business manager of Speciality Restaurants Pvt Ltd, which owns brands like Mainland China, Oh!Calcutta and Sigree.

Arvind Bhatnagar of PDK Shenaz Pvt Ltd, which owns Ivory and Shisha, said big-spending NRI customers who would come in “groups of at least eight to 10 diners” were conspicuous by their absence this Christmas.

NRIs also spend big on family and friends when they go brand-shopping in the city. Some brands have decided to ring in the sale season prematurely after a few dull weeks. “The winter fashion cycle continues till January 15 if business is booming. This time, sales are down at least 20 per cent,” said Kamal Jain, the franchisee for Benetton, Adidas and Nike, blaming it largely on poor NRI flow.