The sale of mobiles phone have dropped significantly and experts have attributed the sudden fall to the upcoming national polls.
Cell phone importers think that the sale will not pick up until a new government takes office. Moreover, they said that given it’s the year end, sales take a dip with the people being on a tight budget. They had estimated that the sales would pick up prior to the polls but with only a week to go, the sales have dropped by 30-40 percent.
Experts think that people are reluctant to tap into their cash reserves for luxury items such as mobile phones given the reservations and fears they have about Dec 30. Throw in the fact that the candidates are not spending as much on their campaigns like before, this December did not bode well for cell phone traders.
“Although sales drop during the year end, this time it’s even worse,” Mesbah Uddin, Chief Marketing Officer of Fair Group, importer of Samsung phones told Bangla Tribune. He said that their sales have dipped by 11 percent.
Xiomi Mobile distributor Solar Electra Bangladesh Ltd Chief Executive Officer Dewan Kanon said, “The sales have dropped given the different atmosphere of the polls this time.”
He said although the admissions and tight year end budget did contribute to the fall, it’s the fact that people won’t be going out of the house much a couple of days after the elections, that has brough on this sudden dip in the sales.
The cell phone shops in the capital’s Bashundhara City and Motalib Plaza are almost devoid of customers. The shop owners and sales men confirmed that although the importers foresee a 20 percent drop, it might escalate to 30 or 40 percent.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi cell phone brand Walton said that their sales have decreased by almost 18 percent. However, they have attributed this drop to the “grey-products” that have made their way to the markets in the last few years. As a result the legally imported phone and locally made phone markets are having to take the brunt of it.
Since January smartphone production has decreased and the imports have dropped by 25 percent. The local company sees that as another reason for the dip.
“The cell phone market was on the decline this year,” said Walton cellular sales division head Asifur Rahman Khan. He thinks that if the authorities concerned take steps to prevent illegal phones in the market, the production as well as sale will also pick up.