Clothing shop POS in Lahore

Lahore's cloth trade, from wholesale to boutique

The Walled City of Lahore Authority describes Azam Cloth Market, inside Delhi Gate, as the largest wholesale cloth market in Asia, supplying cloth beyond Pakistan as well. Around it sit markets that do one job each: Pakistan Cloth Market sells clothing at retail, Kinaari Bazar is known for embroidered cloth for weddings and festivals, and Gumti Bazar for embroidered clothing and bridal dresses on rent.

Outside the walls, Anarkali Bazaar is one of the oldest surviving markets in the subcontinent; its shops sell textiles, garments and jewellery, and New Anarkali is known for handicraft and embroidery. Ichhra Bazaar is counted among the city's most economical markets, with traditional dresses supplied from across Punjab. Liberty Market and Main Boulevard Gulberg are where many branded and designer outlets sit.

A Lahore clothing business usually touches several of these. It buys unstitched suits and than cloth in the old city, sells some as fabric, sends some to its tailors, and keeps ready-made pieces in a range of sizes at a second shop in a society or a mall. The calendar is set by Eid and by the winter wedding season, when bridal and formal orders come with deposits, trial dates and balances to collect.

That is a lot of paper: order books, measurement cards, deposit slips and exchange chits, often kept by different people.

Payment habits add to it. Wholesale buyers in the old city still settle much of their trade in cash and on running accounts with their suppliers, while a boutique in DHA or Gulberg takes cards and wallet transfers for the same kind of suit. A business with both kinds of shop needs one place where every sale, deposit and balance lands, whatever way it was paid.

How a Lahore clothing business runs on Nafaa

A new lot arrives. Build the article once: brand, collection and the size and colour grid. Every variant gets its own barcode to print, and empty sizes show in red, so you see the gaps before a customer asks.

Wedding season. A customer chooses an embroidered suit for a mehndi. Hold it with a deposit, or put it on a qist plan with weekly or monthly payments. The piece stays off the shelf and the balance stays on her account.

Silai and alterations. Her measurements are saved once and reused, several sets per customer if the family orders together. The order carries the design pictures, the karigar, the trial date and the advance. Alterations get a token and a due date, and the customer hears on WhatsApp when it is ready.

Eid. Group stock into a collection such as Eid or Winter and put a percent Sale on the whole collection at once, instead of re-tagging every piece.

After the rush. Exchanges come back against the original bill; the returned piece pays toward the new one and only the difference changes hands. Size charts for chest, length and waist are ready to show a customer who is unsure.

Questions from Lahore clothing shops

Can I hold a bridal outfit until the family pays the rest?

Yes. Put it on hold with a deposit, or on a qist plan. It stays reserved and the balance shows on the customer's account until it is paid.

One family orders five suits for a wedding. Do I enter the measurements five times?

No. A customer can have several saved measurement sets, one per person, and each order picks the right one.

My tailors work in a separate workshop. Can I still track the orders?

Yes. Each silai order lists the karigar and the due date and moves through its stages wherever the stitching is done.

Can I sell the same lawn print as fabric and as a stitched suit?

Yes. Keep the unstitched suit as one product and the stitched piece as another with its own sizes and price, so stock and profit stay separate for each.

Where can I read about planning stock for the season?

See seasonal stock planning for garment shops and the clothing shop page.