WITH Ahmedabad going mall-a-mall, retail mania seems to have gripped Navratri shoppers, too. More and more women are preferring to walk into well-lit, concept stores to buy chaniya cholis than jostling with the junta at Law Garden, which until now had been the most preferred place for Navratri shopping.

“Many years ago, women preferred to buy fabric from the local market at Rani ka hajira and get it stitched. Over the years, street vendors in Law Garden became very popular because they sold readymade chaniya cholis in both traditional and modern patterns. Now, there is a clear shift towards organised sale of Navratri garments,” says Shyamly Shah, who owns a designer showroom in Vastrapur.

It is not just designer stores which are selling Navratri wear, even stores like Reliance hypermarket have an exclusive section for chaniya cholis.

Not only do they have the same designs in varying sizes, but also offer free Navratri jewellery on the purchase of apparel.

A major share of the business of chaniya cholis in the organised sector comes from non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) who descend in thousands during the Diwali season.

“NRGs are a major clientele and provide the greater chunk of business this season,” says Karuna Patel, a designer store employee.

“They would rather give the bustle and bargaining a miss and shop in the comfortable environs of a showroom. Not only are they assured of the exclusivity of designs but also good customer service and personal attention.”

Though the price of chaniya cholis sold in showrooms is a little steep, nobody’s complaining. Whereas retail outlets offer the festive garment in all ranges, starting from Rs 500 and going up to Rs 5,000, designer Navratri wear can cost as much as Rs 20,000.

While the Kutchi handwork has almost disappeared from the streets, it can be found aplenty in designer showrooms. In fact, simulated Kutchi designs in a riot of colours to resemble the original rabaris’ craft are selling very well this season. They do not cost as much as the handwork fabric and even have a better finish.

“After a season of sequins and tiki-work almost replacing the traditional Kutchi designs, they have are in vogue again this year,” says Deepa Mistry, a retailer.

“Since the original hand woven Kutchi work can dig a hole of at least Rs 10,000 in the customers’ pocket, we have tried to produce machine imitations of the similar embroidery in original Kutchi patterns.”

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson posted surprisingly strong earnings on Thursday despite a steeper-than-forecast drop in the average selling price for its phones.

Sony Ericsson, owned by Ericsson and Sony Corp, said it made a pretax profit of 384 million euros (USD 542 million) versus 327 million euros in the second quarter and 427 million a year earlier.

Analysts had expected third-quarter pretax profit of 358 million euros. The company had sales of 3.11 billion euros versus a forecast of 3.29 billion.

Sony Ericsson said the average selling price (ASP) of its mobile phones, a key indicator for the firm's profitability, declined to 120 euros.

That was down from 125 euros in the second quarter and from 147 a year earlier. Analysts had predicted a third-quarter ASP of 124.

Hakan Wranne, analyst at Swedbank, said the average selling price was disappointing.

"But on the other hand they managed to keep and actually increase margins in the quarter," he said, adding this was surprising given the trend in volumes.

The company shipped 25.9 million units in the third quarter versus 24.9 million in the second quarter and overall sales were broadly unchanged from the prior quarter.

Sony Ericsson said its gross margin in the quarter increased to 30.7 per cent. That exceeded a market forecast for 29.8 per cent and was up from 29.6 three months earlier.

"Of course, it's a good sign going forward that gross margins are increasing in Q3 compared to Q2 considering ASPs are going down," Wranne said.

Analyst Francois Duhen at CM-CIC Securities said the report would be seen neutral to slightly positive. "Slightly positive because the margin held up a little bit better than people were expecting," he said. Wranne echoed that view, saying: "I would think that this will be received as neutral to perhaps slightly positive because of the strength in margins."

Sony Ericsson's results have become increasingly important to co-parent Ericsson's bottom line in recent quarters.

Analysts say the venture, the world's number four phone maker, has been grabbing market share from rivals Samsung Electronics and Motorola, the third and second-biggest phone makers behind market leader Nokia.

Sony Ericsson's lower prices reflect its strategy of moving into lower-priced markets.

Units shipped in the quarter reached approximately 26 million, a 31 per cent increase from a year earlier and in line with what analysts had forecast.

"The quarter has seen Sony Ericsson continue to generate significant year-on-year volume growth with a portfolio of products spread across the widest

Courtesy : Expressindia.com