Shopkeepers are anticipating that the sale of refrigerators and deep-freezers would jump ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. A dealer of electronics goods said: "People usually purchase refrigerators and deep-freezers on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha to freeze meat of sacrificial animals."
Apart from refrigerators, sale of other electronic items such as cookers, blenders, microwave oven, ovens, etc also go up during this season, a dealer of electronic goods said, adding that Eid enables them to have nearly one-fourth of their total annual sales. Some of the shopkeepers selling refrigerators are of the view that the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha which usually marked the beginning of a roaring business season for them has not yet begun and attributed the situation to prevailing political unrest, deteriorating law and order and consumers' declining purchasing power.
However, majority of electronic dealers are of firm belief that the sale of refrigerators will go up shortly and will continue till the Eid-ul-Azha. A visit to some showrooms of refrigerators' dealers in the city also gave an impression that the sale of refrigerators would pick up soon. It was also observed that most of the customers are nowadays prefer local brands of refrigerators and it is for this reason that a major portion of the markets dealing in electronics goods is dominated by local brands.
People usually prefer locally manufactured refrigerators and deep-freezers as they get after sales service and warranty for a certain period along with spare parts. "In fact, demand of foreign brands is declining because local manufacturers are now making quality products," a dealer claimed.