The early-April heat wave has at least left some people smiling. These are the dealers and retailers of ACs and fridges, who are reporting a quantum jump in sale in the space of just three days.
BUSINESS UP BY 30%
Vijoy Purohit, general manager of E-Mall, is pleased with the sudden surge in business. “The extreme heat in the eastern region has sparked brisk sales. Over the last three days, there’s been a 30% jump in AC and fridge sales. While we had sold 100 ACs over the past week, in two days -Thursday and Friday -we sold over 100. We have also sold 70 refrigerators in eight days,” he said. But Purohit has noticed that the demand for coolers is down, since the weather has been quite humid.
Subrata Mondal, a sales executive with Great Eastern, Sarat Bose Road, reported the sale of over 100 ACs over the past week, which was much higher than the expected sales. Pintu Majumder of Capital Electronics, Howrah, stated that the outlet has witnessed a huge business hike of almost `3 lakh.
STAFF WORKING OVER TIME
With the sharp rise in temperatures, there’s also been an increased footfall in almost all the shops selling ACs and fridges, keeping shop attendants on their toes. Customers are walking in till late in the evening. Normally we would leave the store by , 6 pm but for the past four days, we have been instructed to stay put for much longer, since customers are walking in even at 10 pm,” added Majumder.
Sachin Sharma, owner of Rajdeep Electronics on CR Avenue, said, “We have instructed all our staff to stay back till 11 pm for the next two-three weeks. This is that period in the year when we generate 80% of our annual revenue.”
WHITE AND AQUA -COLOURS OF THE SEASON
According to Purohit, this is also the time that big discounts are offered. “We offer 20-30% discount on electronics every year during this period but have never received such a huge response. Going by the sales over the past three days, I won’t be surprised if godown stocks go nil.”
So, which colour is seeing the biggest demand? White and cream, answers Purohit. “Light shades are in great demand, while some customers also like a little floral graphics on the ACs,” he added. Subrata Mondal told us that three star split ACs in white or aqua colours are the biggest hits, while many customers are asking for side-by-side refrigerators.