Goan traders hoping for Diwali to make their balance sheets look brighter

This is the season of joy and the festival of light is just
around the corner. This has been a year of darkness, pain and death. We can all
thank the virus for that. It changed the very rhythm of life, destroyed
businesses left scores without a job and many businessmen wondering if they
would ever remain in business by the time this all ended.
Festivals have also been a time when purse strings have been
loosened. It is an important time for brands to achieve yearly targets. The
festival season this year assumes greater with everyone looking forward to how
the customer will respond.
Stephen Fernandes who runs a lighting business said business
was improving in the run up to the festival. He said footfall had increased and
he had nothing to complain now.  
However Sudhir Satardekar who works in one of the largest
white goods dealerships in the state said business was very poor. He said
“There are no enquiries and no one is walking into the store. Schemes are
available for higher end models in led tv, fridges and washing machines. Let’s
hope the situation improves because this is really bad”.
           
Shamsher Dhamani a dealer for various brands said the market
had started improving after Chaturthi. Shamsher said “The sentiment depends
largely on tourism which was hit heavily. Now the situation has changed and the
developing market sentiment reflects it. I distribute 8-10 brands. Corporate
orders have commenced, we service the hotels in Goa. We supply around 180-200
televisions during diwali to hotels. Schemes are available and this year LED’s
are very popular. I am hoping for business before Dhanteras.” Overall he
expressed his happiness and felt confident business would improve now with casino’s
having commenced operations again.
Nitin Ganna another white goods dealer said business was not
bad and what was interesting was that sales of personal care products like
dishwashers, garment seamers , products that would come into the picture at
this time of the year was selling very fast. He attributed this to the virus
and people fear of personal contact. Another interesting trend was the purchase
of more than one television set by a household. He said “People are still
working out of home, attending classes sitting at home and they will also have
different tastes in entertainment and this is the reason for sure.”  Sales
discounts he said were better than last year and some of the sale could be
motivated by that.
Hari kaul, GM of a retail corporate Group said the number of
footfalls had increased and he was happy with that but conversions were another
matter. He said “Yes, people are buying dishwashers, micro waves and large size
refrigerators because of the schemes and it is better than last month for sure
but there is a long way to go.”   
Jewellery is an important part of any festival in Goa like in
the rest of the country. Shrehas Lotlikar a jeweler based in Panjim said
business had been good since Navratri. He said “The entire year has been bad
and for me the season has started now. We are having good footfalls and since
we offer traditional Goan jewellery to the local market. The taste of the
average Goan is evolving and they are developing a taste for designer patterns
which we get from markets like the UAE.”
The automobile market was also hit hard by the virus. Oscar
Fernandes VP of a car dealership based in Verna said the sentiment was slowly
turning positive. The apprehension due to the virus and its effects on the
economy were slowly settling down. He said “People now accept the virus as
being part of life and have made the necessary adjustments.  This month
has been better than the previous month. We are looking at closing 50 car units
this month.
The situation is expected to improve further and one can only
hope it all pans out well in the end because lives are at stake.