With the opening of Golden Temple Department Store from Tihar festival, Banepa now has half a dozen department stores.
“Since we get all the basic necessities at one place, there is no need to visit different places,” Sharada Dhital, a housewife shares. She further adds that she prefers shopping at department stores as such stores sell varied products that are of high quality, affordable and also fresh for consumption.
The department stores sell products that cater to the needs of everyone - from housewives to children.
Bijendra Pradhan of Easy Shop says housewives mostly buy edibles and daily commodities while youngsters go for stuffs like ice-cream, dry food and cosmetics.
Almost all the stores in the city are offering lucrative offers such as branded chocolates and ice-creams to attract youngsters.
Amitlal Palanchowke, owner of Fresh House -- the first department store in Kavre that started its operation some 15 years before, says he had tough time getting customers in the initial days. “It was a difficult task to change the shopping habits of people. But the situation has changed now,” Palanchowke said. Fresh House now serves a large group of customers that includes foreigners, doctors and university officials.
The department stores that mostly target middle-class customers of Banepa and Dhulikhel are getting customers from as far as Sanga, Panauti, Khopasi, Namobuddha and Kushadevi.
The stores in the city do brisk business during festive seasons.
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