Rain continues to elude Kanpur, leave umbrella sellers jittery

KANPUR: The umbrella and raincoat market has been badly hit by less than normal rains this year. If the traders are to be believed, sale of both the products have decreased drastically owing to weak monsoon.
Despite wide range of colourful China-made umbrellas and raincoats available in the market, there are quite less buyers this year, claims shopkeepers.“Unlike last year, the sale of these two products has dipped by 30-40 per cent this year. This is because of weak monsoon. Since there are no rains, people are not buying these items. The business is dull,” said Shamim, a shopkeeper in Meston Road.
The local markets like Naveen Market, Shivalaya, Meston Road, Gumti, Arya Nagar etc, which used to be decked up with colourful umbrella and raincoats, wear a deserted look this year. “Generally, school going kids and college students buy these two items during rains. However, fewer rains have hit the demand of these products. Not many are turning up to buy umbrellas and raincoats. We have large range of products from China, which are lightweight and reasonable in rates. These umbrellas are priced between Rs 120 and Rs 300,” said another shopkeeper, hoping that rains in future will bring considerable business to them.
With month of July almost at its end, the locals feel that investing in umbrellas and raincoat is a waste of money now. Most of the customers are either professionals, women, students or kids. Among denizens, it is women who have been buying umbrellas since commencement of summers as protection from sun. “July has almost got over. It is waste of money to buy raincoats now. However, I recently bought a new three-fold Chinese umbrella for myself to keep myself protected from the scorching sun as well as rains,” said Aparna Jain, a college student.