Traders say the sales of hardware materials have gone down by as much as 50 percent. Sale of paints too has dropped by around 25 percent. [break]
At present, sales of hardware materials ranging from tap accessories to branded sanitary wares have gone down by almost half. Construction industry generally sees slowdown during rainy season as it affects the construction work.
“Sales have come down by almost 50 percent because no major construction work is going on in the capital,” J.K Ankit of J.K International Traders said. “Rise in prices of major construction materials like cement, pipes and fittings and steel is the other reason behind sales.”
Traders involved in the business of construction hardware materials said they started facing sharp decline in sales since the last year and that there are no sings of sales picking up anytime soon.
Jaya Prakash Joshi, owner of NS Traders at Putalisadak, echoed Ankit and said sales have gone down significantly this year. “It´s been really difficult for us as there is no sign of sales picking up,” Joshi added. He said sales have gone down by almost 60 percent compared to a few years back when construction industry was booming and large number of malls and housing projects were being developed.
Meanwhile, sales of paints have also gone down by almost 25 percent as people do not prefer to put a fresh coat on walls during rainy season. “Also, people do not paint their homes frequently these days as they use texture paints that last for 5-7 years,” Nandan Adhikari, proprietor of Color Spa at Old Baneshwar, said, explaining reasons behind drop in paints sales.
Paint manufacturers also say sales have dropped this year. “We had recorded total annual sales of Rs 1.25 billion last year. Sales figure so far this year has dropped by 15 to 20 percent,” said Manoj Mishra, head - sales and marketing at Berger Jenson and Nicholson Nepal.
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