The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Rebate offer boosts APCO sales

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Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Rebate offer boosts APCO sales

A 30 per cent rebate is being offered for the first time at all its showrooms

Silk saris, bedsheets, towels and lungis most sought after
Per day sales in all outlets register Rs. 30-32 lakh

HYDERABAD: The decision of the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society (APCO) to give a 30 per cent rebate on all its products for the first time in recent times is yielding rich dividends, boosting sales four times. Normally the organisation gives 10 to 20 per cent rebate.

The enhanced rebate being offered from December 21 to January 15 in connection with the festive season, particularly Sankranti, has pushed the sales from the normal Rs.8 lakh a day across all APCO showrooms in the State to Rs. 30-32 lakh now, an official of the society told The Hindu. The items mainly attracting the customers are silk saris, bedsheets, towels and lungis.

‘The customers are getting wooed to the rebate because they are getting what they want at almost cost-to-cost basis’, he said. This rising sales has resulted in a peculiar situation where several products were in short supply in the last two years, the official remarked. These include ‘Bandar’ saris, Karimnagar bedsheets, lungis and towels.

He pointed out that the decision to offer more rebate to customers was intended to give a boost to the sales, as also to provide more work to handloom weavers, who have been leading a hand-to-mouth existence because of the crisis in sector.

According to the official, the steep rise in sales of various APCO products following the rebate has made the organisation revise its purchasing plans. The purchases from the primary cooperative societies rose from Rs.25 crore to Rs.35 crore.

Simultaneously, the official stated, APCO was offering rebate ranging from 40 to 60 per cent on old stocks at its showrooms in Tirupati, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Anantapur.

Encouraged by the boost in sales, APCO is thinking of repeating the 30 per cent rebate offer during February and March in connection with the Ugadi festival. The official expressed confidence that this benefit would surely give further fillip to the sales of handloom products, besides providing the much needed relief to the weavers.

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