The 5-50% or the 7-70% Aadi Sale discounts by today’s retailers are considered to be a marketing gimmick to push sales. It’s a great driver of sales volumes and most people complete their Diwali shopping during this time. It’s a phenomenon that has taken Tamilnadu retail industry by storm and many retailers see an increase of more than 50% in sales volumes during this period. Everybody in the retail chain is busy during this time. Many advertisements throng the TV channels and newspapers featuring enticing offers and promoted using popular brand ambassadors.
Many consider this a modern marketing tactic but it all started sometime during the 1950’s when people’s festivities and practices were tapped to provide business to weavers and also promote sales.
By many accounts, the famous Aadi sale originated from Coimbatore. Today we take a look at the history behind the Aadi Sale and how the early retailers conducted it in Coimbatore.
The tamil month of "Aadi" is a fascinating one. It’s considered an inauspicious month for conducting marriages but it is the favoured month for shopping. The “Aadi Velli” or the Friday’s of this month is very popular among our women for they visit the temples and offer their prayers without fail. The Aadi Velli’s see the women of Coimbatore decked with all the finery and bearing a festive look. Though this month is considered a ‘bad’ month for marriages, it’s considered very auspicious to visit temples during every Friday and the households bore a festive look. Taking a new saree for the Aadi Velli thus became a trend.
The saree was placed on the altar of worship and then worn to a temple. Therefore the Aadi Velli saree became sacred for all the married women of those times. Auspicious colours like yellow, red and green were chosen and they avoided black. Some traditional households used to celebrate the “Naga Chathurthi” and “Garuda Panchami” when the women brought clothes for their brothers and they also used to shop for bangles and other items like bindis, kajal, flowers, turmeric and related stuff in order to adorn themselves.
The acute businessmen that the textile retailers of the city were, observed this saree and related buying practices of the people and came up with an innovative idea. Thus was born the great “Aadi Sale”
The retailers used to source unsold and slow moving stock from the weavers of Kanchipuram, Arni, Kumbhakonam and elsewhere for the Adi sale. Coimbatore being a handloom weaving destination also helped greatly as many weavers around the town sold their stock through these big retailers. The sarees were offered on sale with a hefty discount. At times the lower prices helped the customer to buy a saree at an astonishing discount.
Sri Rajeswari Hall pioneered the sale in Raja Street, The old Shobha Cloth Centre, Prakasam and Rajendra textiles did their best in the town area and Mahaveers in Cross Cut Road used to roll out the best during this season.
Sri Rajeswari Hall promoted Aadi Sale through unique advertisements which were printed upside down in the news papers. Shobha Cloth Center used to put up brightly lit banners of Goddess Koniamman made out of colourful serial lights. Tharakaram Silk House in Ram Nagar was also one of the early pioneers who specialized in the "Aadi Sale".
Prithivi Tharakaram of Tharakaram Silk House states, “The weavers used to parcel their stuff and request us to sell at a discount of more than thirty to forty percent at times. The retailers used to sell the stuff for small margins and this was a win win situation for the weavers and the shoppers. Our shop used to witness a splurge in sales by over fifty percent. The sale helped us increase our customer base while also making the weavers secure. "
Over time several retailers did their best and different parts of the city wore a festive look at the time of the sale. The newspapers used to carry a slew of advertisements during those days. Advertising agents used to cycle their way into the old and narrow streets in order to seek advertisements from shopkeepers. Food outlets of the city used to have brisk sales and the whole town used to be in a festive mood during "Aadi" of the yonder era.
And today this sale trend has widened it’s reach across the state and many retailers provide astonishing discounts to attract customers and improve sales. But it all started 60 years back when astute businessmen devised a smart marketing tactic that promoted sales, secured the livelihood of the weavers and provided great value for money to the people.
Many consider this a modern marketing tactic but it all started sometime during the 1950’s when people’s festivities and practices were tapped to provide business to weavers and also promote sales.
By many accounts, the famous Aadi sale originated from Coimbatore. Today we take a look at the history behind the Aadi Sale and how the early retailers conducted it in Coimbatore.
The tamil month of "Aadi" is a fascinating one. It’s considered an inauspicious month for conducting marriages but it is the favoured month for shopping. The “Aadi Velli” or the Friday’s of this month is very popular among our women for they visit the temples and offer their prayers without fail. The Aadi Velli’s see the women of Coimbatore decked with all the finery and bearing a festive look. Though this month is considered a ‘bad’ month for marriages, it’s considered very auspicious to visit temples during every Friday and the households bore a festive look. Taking a new saree for the Aadi Velli thus became a trend.
The saree was placed on the altar of worship and then worn to a temple. Therefore the Aadi Velli saree became sacred for all the married women of those times. Auspicious colours like yellow, red and green were chosen and they avoided black. Some traditional households used to celebrate the “Naga Chathurthi” and “Garuda Panchami” when the women brought clothes for their brothers and they also used to shop for bangles and other items like bindis, kajal, flowers, turmeric and related stuff in order to adorn themselves.
The acute businessmen that the textile retailers of the city were, observed this saree and related buying practices of the people and came up with an innovative idea. Thus was born the great “Aadi Sale”
The retailers used to source unsold and slow moving stock from the weavers of Kanchipuram, Arni, Kumbhakonam and elsewhere for the Adi sale. Coimbatore being a handloom weaving destination also helped greatly as many weavers around the town sold their stock through these big retailers. The sarees were offered on sale with a hefty discount. At times the lower prices helped the customer to buy a saree at an astonishing discount.
Sri Rajeswari Hall pioneered the sale in Raja Street, The old Shobha Cloth Centre, Prakasam and Rajendra textiles did their best in the town area and Mahaveers in Cross Cut Road used to roll out the best during this season.
Sri Rajeswari Hall promoted Aadi Sale through unique advertisements which were printed upside down in the news papers. Shobha Cloth Center used to put up brightly lit banners of Goddess Koniamman made out of colourful serial lights. Tharakaram Silk House in Ram Nagar was also one of the early pioneers who specialized in the "Aadi Sale".
Prithivi Tharakaram of Tharakaram Silk House states, “The weavers used to parcel their stuff and request us to sell at a discount of more than thirty to forty percent at times. The retailers used to sell the stuff for small margins and this was a win win situation for the weavers and the shoppers. Our shop used to witness a splurge in sales by over fifty percent. The sale helped us increase our customer base while also making the weavers secure. "
Over time several retailers did their best and different parts of the city wore a festive look at the time of the sale. The newspapers used to carry a slew of advertisements during those days. Advertising agents used to cycle their way into the old and narrow streets in order to seek advertisements from shopkeepers. Food outlets of the city used to have brisk sales and the whole town used to be in a festive mood during "Aadi" of the yonder era.
And today this sale trend has widened it’s reach across the state and many retailers provide astonishing discounts to attract customers and improve sales. But it all started 60 years back when astute businessmen devised a smart marketing tactic that promoted sales, secured the livelihood of the weavers and provided great value for money to the people.