Pandemic hurls too tough a match for Kolkata sports gear stores

A layer of dust on the plastic covers of cricket bats has made the makers’ name almost invisible at a store on Mahatma Gandhi Road in north Kolkata.

The shelves stacking up other sports gear looked untouched for days. Out of three men inside the store, one was almost dozing off while reading a newspaper when The Telegraph visited the store on Tuesday.

“Usually, we don’t have time to have lunch on many days in the middle of January. But now, the only thing we have in plenty is time,” said Rajkumar Saha, owner of United Sports Company, a 65-year-old store on Mahatma Gandhi Road, near its intersection with College Street.

Bidhan Market on Sunday.

Bishwarup Dutta

The pandemic is proving too tough a match for stores that sell sports gear. After the devastating second wave, just when life was moving towards normality and the traders were looking forward to a lucrative winter, the fresh surge has dealt them a body blow.

Both retail and bulk clients have disappeared again, said retailers and wholesalers.

Saha had sold “less than 50” cricket bats so far this January. Before the pandemic, he would sell “over 600” bats every month in winter, for both tennis and leather balls.

While coaching camps would buy leather ball bats, neighbourhood tournaments would drive the sale of tennis ball bats. Schools, which usually bought sports gear in bulk in March for the entire year, also contributed to some of the winter bill. But not anymore.

An entrance to Bidhan Market on Sunday afternoon. Even on weekdays in January, the passage is usually crowded, said traders.

Bishwarup Dutta

Saha was not alone. Scores of shops selling sports equipment and trophies and shields, which dot the two sides of Mahatma Gandhi Road near its intersection with College Street, shared the same plight.

Schools and colleges formed the backbone of the client base of many stores. After a two-year shutdown, the re-opening of educational institutions had infused new hope in traders. Only to be belied by the fresh curbs.

November to February was usually the best time for these stores. Cricket was the main driver of revenue. Countless competitions were organised across the city — involving schools, colleges, cricket clubs and the ubiquitous neighbourhood tournaments.

Kishor Das, owner of Sports Land, which sells trophies, shields, medals and their likes, said his business was down by “70 per cent”. Even a modest tournament would mean several items sold, he said.

There would be trophies for champions and runners-up, plus prizes for the player of each match and the tournament.

But for the past two years, only one thing has kept his trade floating — retirement and farewell mementos.

“That accounts for one or two items at most,” said Das.

Bidhan Market, opposite the Esplanade bus terminus, which bears the “sports hub” tag in Calcutta, has also been deserted.

Winter is the time when young boys — fresh trainees at camps — and their parents would line up to buy cricket gear and the traders would not have time to breathe.

“One kit includes over a dozen items, from helmet to spikes. I used to sell at least five to six full sets every day, including whites. On Sundays, the number would often go past 10,” said Sujit Kumar Shukla, proprietor of Reliable Sports, one of the 350-odd stores at Bidhan Market.

When this newspaper called him up around 5pm last Sunday, Shukla said he was yet to sell even one cricket kit.

Another store owner at Bidhan Market, who did not want to be named, said picnics also contributed to the sale of cricket bats and badminton racquets.

“Now that the government has allowed the gathering of 200 people in open-air venues, I am banking on the picnic crowd to generate some revenue,” he said.

Wholesalers, both at Bidhan Market and on MG Road, said the number of small retailers had also trickled down substantially.

“The heavy losses incurred over the past two years have left them with an acute cash crunch and a large pile of unsold items. Unless things become normal and they manage to sell that, it is unlikely they will come for fresh orders,” said a wholesaler on MG Road.

Adeep Kapoor, owner of GK Sports on Jawaharlal Nehru Road in the central business district, said the past two years had been “pretty slow” in terms of business but added that business was improving before the third wave came.

“Apart from schools and cricket coaching camps, corporate tournaments had also dried up. That had also affected the business,” he said.

“But the new set of curbs is only a fortnight old. It is still too early to gauge their effect,” he said.

During the pandemic, the sale of fitness gear and badminton and table tennis equipment had gone up, he said.