Following two years of dull demand, home furniture sales went up slightly in the lead-up to Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival for the Muslim community in Bangladesh, as people went on a buying spree despite ongoing inflationary pressure, according to industry people.

Lucrative discounts, the option to pay in equal monthly instalments and different marketing campaigns helped increase furniture sales during Ramadan this year, they said.

According to industry insiders, the combined annual turnover of home and office furniture has reached nearly Tk 26,000 crore annually.

But the industry has not been achieving significant growth since 2020.

"After two years, home furniture sales enjoyed a good spell ahead of Eid because customers' mindset has changed and they now spend their disposable income on purchasing furniture," said Shohan Akon Sunny, manager (marketing) at Partex Furniture Industries Ltd.

According to Sunny, the economy has slightly improved compared to the previous year. As a result, customers feel encouraged to purchase new furniture.

He also said customers did not purchase furniture last year as prices jumped due to the increase in the price of US dollars. As prices did not increase this year and manufacturers and retailers offered discounts for Eid, sales grew, he added.

Despite not having the final sales record, he hoped their sales would increase by at least 15 percent.

As per their previous sales records, sales of furniture, particularly home furniture, ahead of Eid account for around 20 percent of total annual furniture sales.

He added that customers would wait until Ramadan to purchase home furniture as companies offer discounts.

According to Sunny, Partex Furniture offered a 12 percent flat discount.

Like Partex, sales of Regal Furniture, a concern of Pran-RFL Group, also witnessed impressive sales ahead of Eid.

"We are satisfied with our sales ahead of Eid amid ongoing inflationary pressure," said Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director of Pran-RFL Group.

According to him, Regal provides quality furniture at reasonable prices. He added that they did not increase prices despite the cost of production soaring due to the appreciation of the US dollar against the local currency.

Besides, Regal's principles dictate that increasing sales volume is more important than an excessive profit margin, he said. As such, customers get the best value for money from Regal, he claimed.

"Overall, home and office furniture sales went as usual, without any substantial growth, ahead of Eid this year," said Selim H Rahman, chairman and managing director of Hatil Furniture.

Normally, customers purchase furniture on the occasion of Eid alongside clothes and food, he said.

He said the income of salaried individuals did not increase in the past year as the overall economy and business activities are yet to revive.

Selim said he is yet to get a complete sales report but hoped total sales would be close to last Ramadan's figures, when Hatil sold furniture worth around Tk 37 crore.

According to him, only those from high-income segments purchased furniture this year while the masses could not fulfil their desire to refurnish their homes.

However, the informal sector of the furniture industry, which dominates around 70 percent of the total market, has continued to witness a dull season as in the previous two years, said market insiders.

Altaf Hossain, owner of Altaf Furniture, one of the biggest showrooms at Begum Rokeya Sarani in Dhaka's Mirpur, said middle-class people could not muster the courage to enter his showroom ahead of Eid.

"We enjoyed good sales in January and February, but the market became dull during Ramadan, so Eid sales were really dull," he noted.