On Wednesday morning, Sagnik Majumdar rushed to CA Market with an urgent agenda – to buy a room heater. “My grandmother hasn’t got out of the quilt for the last two days. My mother sent me here to buy the cheapest heater available. I found a hot air blower, and so looks like Granny will finally come to the dinner table tonight,” smiled Sagnik, a resident of CD Block.

Sagnik was lucky. Residents have made such a beeline for heaters over the past week that in most outlets, stocks have run out.

“We sell heaters by companies like Usha, Havells, Bajaj, and Assure, but we have none in stock now,” said Mamon Das of Khosla Electronics, opposite City Centre. “Over the last few days, 15 out of 20 customers have been asking for heaters. Some are simply opening the door to ask if we have heaters, hearing the ‘no’ and walking out. I’ve worked at this store for a decade now, and this is the first time we’ve run out of heaters.”

The store has a single not-for-sale heater that they are using to demonstrate to customers. The machines cost between Rs 2,600 and Rs 5,000, but price isn’t a factor at all. “Customers aren’t even asking the price, features, models or companies. They want a heater at any cost and are paying an advance since there are none available now. And they are buying not one but two or three heaters at a time, for all the rooms in the house,” Das continued.

A single heater left to sell at BD Market. Shatadipa Bhattacharya

Mainak De had to resort to buying a heater online. “We had one heater in my parents’ room, but it’s got so cold that we had to buy another one for my room. Even my dog has dragged his blanket into my room and sleeps there now,” said the BD Block resident.

It’s the same at Croma in CA Block. “For heaters, we have a waiting list of over 10 people, and since yesterday, all the calls we’re getting are for heaters. Plus, there are walk-ins,” said Arijit Sen.

Electronic shops at CA Market have the same experience. “Sales of heaters and hot-air blowers have sky-rocketed this year,” said R.N. Saha of Sur Sathi there. “I’m having to wait quite some time for fresh stocks to come in. I placed an order for 20 pieces some 10 days ago. The delivery came in today, but only about eight pieces arrived,” he said on Wednesday.

Bimal Das of BD Market’s Loknath Electric Centre is making do with old stock. “I had four heaters left over from last year, and this time I could only manage to buy two. But they have sold out in the past four or five days. I only have one left in stock now,” he said.

At CK Market, Bhaskar Saha of Modern Electric is not just selling heaters but also repairing damaged ones. “I’ve fixed four or five old ones already this season,” he said.

In hot water

The sustained dip in temperature has also got residents queuing up for geysers. “It’s been so cold that my kids had stopped bathing for several days! I had to buy a geyser,” said BE Block resident Rina Ghosh. “It was really impossible to touch the water without one, especially at night. But I couldn’t find a room heater anywhere, so the kids are staying wrapped up inside the blanket most of the day.”

Most people already have water geysers installed at home, so the hike in demand right now isn’t exponential, said Das of Khosla Electronics. “We are also getting queries for microwaves since food on the table is getting cold very fast,” she said.

At Croma, air purifiers have sold out. “This is related to winter as the air quality index worsens this season. But the stock is getting replenished within five days. This is unlike the case for heaters, where there is no clarity from companies about restocking,” added Sayan Das. Air purifiers in the market are priced between Rs 7,500 and 57,000, with the top-end model capable of both heating and cooling.

Winterwear

Stocking too much winterwear is risky for shops as it means a long-term investment. “Any leftovers will have to wait a whole year before we can offer them again. The last two or three years were hardly cold, so sales were low, but this year sales are robust,” says Tamosha Mukherjee Roy of CK Market. She sells all sorts of branded wear through her stores Sri Ramkrishna Ashish and Srimaa.

Over the past few days, parents have been buying thermals for children headed to school. “Out of fear that they wouldn’t dry up in time after washing, they are buying two. They are also buying woollen socks and gloves. Boxes of socks and gloves that arrived yesterday are almost exhausted today,” she said.

A luxury winter blanket being unpacked at CK Market. Brinda Sarkar

Jackets and thermal wear, she says, have a slow but steady market around the year, thanks to holiday makers headed to the hills and Sector V employees headed to cold offshore sites. “For winter, most people have a couple of sweaters, jackets and shawls, but these days, thanks to Facebook, this handful gets flaunted to the world early in winter and women, especially, then come for new designs and colours to wear to upcoming weddings,” Tamosha explained. “‘English colours’ like lilac and lavender are very popular now since they go better with the soft shades of organza and tissue saris that are worn in winter.”

Sarada Fashion in CA Block and Arati Dress Material in IA Market have both noted a marginal rise in the sales of woollen wear. “We’ve stocked up with woollens from Ludhiana, which is the hub of winterwear in India, and though sales had begun modestly in December, the recent dip in the mercury has given it a slight surge,” added Animesh Basak of Basak Cloth Merchant in CK Market.

Tamosha added that the sale of quilts and blankets has picked up, too. “The starting range is in hundreds, but the premium ones priced Rs 6-8,000 by companies like Boutique Living and Spaces are flying off shelves too. I’ve had to re-order them thrice. We’ve sold seven such for biyer tattwas alone. And should anyone find it too cold to step out of their home, I’m sending staff to their houses with eight to 10 blankets for customers to spread out and choose,” she said.

Additional reporting by Shreya Chatterjee and Shatadipa Bhattacharyya