Coimbatore: Famed Sirumugai handlooom sari businesses get busy again

COIMBATORE: The handlooom sari business in Sirumugai, on the outskirts of Coimbatore, is beginning to see signs of revival after taking a huge hit for close to four months due to the Covid-induced lockdown. Close to 60% of the businesses have resumed operations in the area and demand is soaring, several traders in Sirumugai’s famed sari business said.
A panchayat town on the outskirts of Coimbatore, Sirumugai is known as a hub for handloom saris with its unending textile shops and numerous handloom weavers proving its life-blood. The textile shop owners procure handloom saris from weavers and sell it to wholesale storerooms or retail customers.
“Ever since the lockdown was imposed, the wholesale business took a big hit as storerooms had to be shut. We were somehow able to sell our saris with much difficulty through retail customers. It is only now that our business has touched 60% of what we used to sell before lockdown,” said K Dhandapani, owner of Karappan Silks in the town.
While most demand has been for silk saris, other varieties like silk cotton and soft silk are also recording an uptick in demand.
S N Pushparaj, proprietor of PR Saris, said the number of orders given to weavers is rising gradually. “We had stopped placing orders for two months since March. After that, we resumed placing orders to support weavers. To retain our customers, we have started selling saris at production cost,” he said.
The businessman said apart from retail sale, they are also selling saris online, which contributes about 20% of their business. “We fix an appointment with customers. During the time fixed, we show them saris on video call. The saris that they finalise are sent to them through courier,” he said.
The shift to online space, he said, has been done keeping in mind safety aspects given the Covid-19 situation. “Earlier, only a few people used to purchase saris online, as most wanted to touch a product before purchasing it. But now, many are buying our saris online,” he said.
Pushparaj’s business has also given room to resellers, who get details and photographs of saris and circulate it in their social circles. Once an order is placed, they contact the sellers to courier the product. They currently have at least 200 to 250 resellers working with them.
Some resellers said the credibility of the saris woven in the region has helped the business to be retrieved even during this crisis. “Without the name, it would have been very difficult,” they said.