Tailors in Enugu bewail poor patronage

Some tailors in the Enugu metropolis have expressed regret over low patronage, as yuletide season sets in.

Some of the tailors, who spoke to a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, attributed the poor patronage to the current economic hardship.

Few of the dressmakers, attributed the downturn in their business to the preference for readymade wears, as against the bespoke dresses.

Mary Akujiobi, a tailor at Uwani, said patronage was lower compared to previous years when customers flooded her shop, months before the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Miss Patience Ilo, another tailor at Achara Layout, said that the increase in the value of the dollar to the Naira affected her business.

“In the past, my customers from Enugu and other places would have brought their cloths earlier to avoid disappointment.

“But as you can see, Christmas is less than three weeks and we have just a few materials to sew,’’ she said.

Ifeanyi Ojukwu, another tailor, also attributed the poor patronage to increase in the price of services rendered by tailors, which, according to her, had forced customers to find alternatives in ready-made or fairly-used clothes.

“As the prices of everything have gone up, we are forced to increase our charges because the cost of materials and other accessories in making wears have increased.

“Some people prefer to just buy ready-to-wear clothes or second-hand ones, which in some cases, are a bit cheaper than buying cloth materials, accessories and the sewing,’’ he said.