No change in clothing, footwear prices ahead of Eid Al Adha — sector representative

AMMAN — Clothing and footwear prices will remain within the normal price range ahead of Eid Al Adha, according to a sector representative.

“The Kingdom’s imports of clothes and footwear up until mid-May have reached around JD130 million, of which JD103 million was the value of clothing imports,” said Asaad Qawasmi, representative of the clothing, footwear, fabrics, and jewellery sector at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce.

He said that operational costs are soaring. However, a cycle of constant offers and discounts has been going on for years, with the aim to entice consumers amid recurring low demand and changing economic circumstances, he added.

Qawasmi noted that “there will be no change in prices prior to Eid Al Adha and they will remain stable in the local market”.

Regarding the sector’s overall performance, he noted that the sector is “very sensitive to changes in weather” and the past period which witnessed day-to-day weather changes has impacted seasonal fashion, consumer behaviour and their purchase decisions.

There is a general decline in local demand for clothing, which is not a new thing for the local apparel market, Subhi Al Adham, owner of an apparel store in Amman, told The Jordan Times on Saturday. 

“In recent years, apparel stores have constantly had discounts, so if we even want to increase our prices we cannot because there is a lot of competition among traders,” Adham said.

On the same note, Hala Abdulla who owns a women’s apparel boutique, said on Saturday, that “business has not been going so well during the past period. The last time I had lots of customers coming was prior to Eid Al Fitr”.

Abdulla has been cutting prices of many collections for over two months now. She noted that customers now got used to buying clothes on discounts, which has become the only way through which she could sell her merchandise.

“Sales in my boutique during the past two months have declined by around 20-30 per cent,” she said.