Mannequin sale growing

Mannequin sale is growing thanks to growing number of malls and shopping centers in different parts of the country. Though there is no clear idea when mannequins started to enter into the country, traders believe mannequin trade started to pick up when malls, departmental stores and big shopping centers started coming up in the Kathmandu Valley in the 2000s. “As the number of apparel houses started growing in Nepal, traders realized the need of mannequins to properly display their products,” Bijaya Gurung, proprietor of Millennium Collection Centre, New Road, told Republica. He further added that mannequins help show the customer exactly how the clothing looks when worn. According to traders, mannequins mostly come from China. Though there are a few Nepali companies such as Nepal Toy and Dummy Product House and Sunrise Toy and Dummy Product House, they meet only around 15 percent of the demand. More than 70 percent of the demand is met through imports from China, while the rest comes from other countries. Most of the traders prefer Chinese mannequins as they believe Nepali mannequins have poor finishing. Mannequins are basically made from fiber glass and plastic. Sudharshan Poudel, owner of Kathmandu Hanger and Dummy House, say most of the Nepali stores and malls use plastic mannequins as fiber dummies are costly as well as delicate to handle. “Price of mannequins ranges form Rs 1,200 to Rs 10,000 in Nepal,” Poudel said, adding that expensive mannequins are imported only after receiving orders from customers. Sunrise Toy and Dummy Product House, Sinamangal started mannequin production from last year only. The company produces leg and body mannequins. Madan Tamang, manager of the company, said it is really difficult to penetrate into the market largely dominated by Chinese mannequins. “The business might improve in the long run, but things are very difficult now,” added Tamang.