Despite internet boycott, Chinese lights in high demand
Vendors said that though customers enquire about the made-in-India lights, most resorted to buy the Chinese product for their cheap pricing. The Indian makes cost nearly twice as much as their Chinese counterparts.
With Diwali round the corner, Chinese string lights at the Naka Hindola market in Lucknow were seen disappearing from the shelves faster than the Indian makes. Despite the social media boycotts and campaigns against Chinese products, the demand for them has not seemingly taken much hit as people gear up for a grand celebration of the festival of lights after a gap of two years.
Vendors said that though customers enquire about the made-in-India lights, most resorted to buy the Chinese product for their cheap pricing. The Indian makes cost nearly twice as much as their Chinese counterparts.
For a string of 10-15 metres in length, the Indian lights are priced between ₹70 and ₹150. Similarly, the Chinese lights, which are sold in much longer strings, are sold for ₹280-350 for a string of 65 metres.
Arvinder Singh, the owner of Winkle Electronics, said that the claims of Indian lights being more in demand were false. “Shopkeepers simply say that to drive up their sales,” he added. Singh and other vendors also said despite their poor quality, the Chinese lights shine brighter when compared to the Indian lights.
Naka Hindola hosts an entire street overflowing with shops selling decorative items for Diwali. All decorative lights, both Indian and Chinese ones, that flood the market are brought from Delhi. They are priced as low as ₹40 to a high of Rs. 700.
