On one hand is the pandemic, the down-in-the-dumps economy and cash-strapped residents. But on the other hand is the irrefutable urge to celebrate one of the biggest festivals on the calendar. And since an essential part of Diwali is meeting, greeting and gifting, vendors are hoping for robust sales of hampers and decorations this year.
“If corporate orders for Diwali hampers are anything to go by, our business is almost back to normal,” smiles Sailesh Agarwal, who runs the Namotsav store in CB Block. “Corporate orders are both planned and placed well in advance and the trend is very encouraging.” So while their hamper prices start at Rs 500, they go up to Rs 15,000 and customers, he feels, are ready to spend.
“Yes, the market is down since last year but when it comes to Diwali gifting, one has to maintain the standard one has set in previous years or else people will start talking. And frankly, it’s not worth losing one’s goodwill and reputation just to save a buck,” says Manish Gandhi, a resident of New Town’s CE Block.
The Afghanistan effect
An assorted tray of goodies at Parampara in CB Block
Showli ChakrabortyThe dry fruits market went into a tizzy earlier this year when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, a major supplier of these products. Prices have now risen by about five to eight per cent since last year.
“Trade routes were closed for two months after the Taliban turmoil but now they have resumed and the dry fruit supply for Diwali has stabilised,” said Mamata Surekha of Bhikharam Chandmal in Bangur Avenue. “Prices have risen but it’s not a factor for those who eat or gift them regularly.”
Ashok Kaneriwal, of Bhagya Lakshmi in Kankurgachhi, blames price rise on three reasons — the pandemic, rise in fuel prices and the Afghanistan trade route obstruction earlier on. “When the Taliban took over, most retailers panicked and hoarded on stock, anticipating trouble. We are now clearing these out as there is always a surge in demand before Diwali,” he said. “In any case, we are maintaining old prices but lowering our profit margin as customers are still not willing to spend much.”
Alok Jhunjhunwala of CB Block’s Parampara felt that demand for dry fruits had not fallen despite the price hike. “There are a lot of options to choose from — cashews, raisins, pistachios, ground nuts, walnuts, kheermani, anjeer, badam candy and saffron. We also add juice, chocolate or peanut butter for customised orders,” he showed, as his staff packed them into hampers.
“Prices of dry fruits have risen by 5-8 per cent since 2019. In 2019 almonds cost Rs 940 a kilo and in 2020 they had fallen to Rs 800. But this year prices have risen again by a 5-8 per cent,” said Arvind Agarwal, owner of Sree Hanuman Stores near the swimming pool. “But since people aren’t willing to spend, we are selling them with nominal profit margins.”
A spokesperson for Bhikaram Chaandmal outside City Centre said their trays had become smaller owing to the price rise. “We have made them smaller, reduced the amount of dry fruits in them and kept the overall price the same as last year. We have already lost a lot of business to the pandemic and don’t want to lose more by hiking prices.”
Gupta Brothers, near the swimming pool, is offering two kinds of gift trays. One is with sweets like Motichur Laddu, Kaju Katli and Badam Cake that will last two or three days. Prices of sweets, by the way, remain unchanged. Their other tray is of dry fruits. “We have kept prices the same but have lowered the weight of trays. For instance earlier a Rs 1,000 pack would have 200g of five different kinds of dry fruits, but this time we have four types,” said Jay Dalai, manager at Gupta Brothers.
Electric decorative lights, imports of which have taken a hit
Customers busy shopping at Bhagya Lakshmi in Kankurgachhi ahead of Diwali.
Showli Chakraborty
Electic lanterns shaped like hurricane lamps at Sri Guru Bhandar in IA Market
Dry fruit trays on display at Bhikharam Chandmal next to City Centre.
Showli Chakraborty
A staffer at CB Block’s Namotsav readies gift packs.
Brinda Sarkar
A Vana Sutram hamper comprising organic food and planters
Health and innovation
Customers are also turning to new gifting products beyond sweets and dry fruits. Resham Bajaj of Bangur Avenue deals in all sorts of organic foodstuff round the year but for Diwali her hampers are brimmed with organic ghee, honey, quinoa, seeds of pumpkin, sunflower, chia etc. “We are also packing planters and earthen diyas and using jute bags to pack them in,” she says on behalf of her brand Vana Sutram.
“Since diabetes has become rampant now, people are switching to healthy gifts. They are not flinching at the price tag either. Our range starts from Rs 1,500 but the most popular bracket is Rs 2,500 to 3,500,” says Bajaj.
Delish Dreams is churning out hampers with Chocolate Barfi Truffles, Nutella Kalakand or Motichoor Cheese Cake in jars. “The economy has improved since last year and people are ready to pay slightly more. Having said that, we are not pushing it. We are providing value for money products for the price they pay,” says Amandeep Singh of the BC Block-based company.
The CF Block-based Zestful Flavours is allowing discounts on bulk orders, of which she is getting up to about 100. “People are requesting new flavours, hampers with a mix of sweets and savouries and I’m offering products like Almond Brittle, which is a crunchy dessert made of chocolate-coated almonds, rasmalai flavoured tea cakes, fire cracker-shaped chocolates…,” says Anjali Kejriwal.
Agarwal of Namotsav says customers are emphasising on hygiene and presentation this year. “So more than plastic wraps, they want dry fruits sent in glass jars. People are also loving our musical box, where the box of gifts itself wishes you Happy Diwali in a pre-recorded message when you open it,” he says.
Twinkle twinkle
Vendors have also stocked up on lights and candles. “Judging from the way people hit the streets during Durga puja, we think Diwali will be full-on too,” says Gobindo Lo of the Needs store in Baisakhi. “We have bought fresh stocks of lights from Burrabazar and intermittent sales started from Sunday itself.”
The most popular light for Salt Lake residents is fairy lights (tooni bulbs). “People like to hang these vertically outside their houses from their terrace right down to the garden. They cost about Rs 100 for 40ft and pink, green and white are favourite colours,” says Tultul Sen of CA Market’s Tultul Electronics.
The new entrant this year is strings of huge plastic stars and hearts that light up when plugged in. “A set of these has 12 stars and costs Rs 600,” says Biswanath Bhowmik of Petals in Baisakhi. Of course, battery-operated plastic diyas (Rs 20 to 50) remain popular.
Rishiraj Ghosh of Sri Guru Bhandar in IA Market rues the fact that supply of Chinese products has dwindled. “Chinese products are extremely attractive but supply has fallen since last year and prices have risen by 70 per cent. I stopped myself from buying many of their products this time from Burrabazar as customers wouldn’t be able to afford them. We are as it is reducing our profit margin to keep prices affordable but we have staff salaries to pay too,” says Ghosh.
saltlake@abp.in
