Last year, there were 950,000 children registered for schooling in our country. This year, in Minsk alone, general education institutions will admit 178,700 children, including more than 23,200 first graders. Of course, everyone likes to look smart on September 1st, with most parents paying Br170 to Br700 (1.7-7 million old) to kit out primary age pupils and Br220 to Br840 for secondary school age youngsters, for clothes, shoes and stationery.
Retro collection enjoys demand
The Director of Slavyanka JSC, Teimuraz Bochorishvili, tells us, “Our retro collection is enjoying high demand, providing dresses and pinafores for girls and suits for the guys, with a simple blazer. We’ve received so many uniform orders, as our company produces not only knitwear, but clothes in wool, elastane and polyviscose blends, at affordable prices. A skirt, pair of trousers or pinafore costs just Br25-30, while a suit is Br50-70. This year, our designers created 47 new items of uniform for pupils in grades 1 to 11.”
Dmitry Talanov, who heads Marketing and Commerce for Kalinka CJSC, says, “We’ve created about 200 school clothing items for the new academic year, with 130 already in large-scale production. Most are for girls, and cover traditional grays, dark blue and black, but we also have an abundance of beautiful accessories to add elegance.”
Minsk trade fairs for school clothes, shoes, stationery and other small items launch from July 10th, through until September 10th, gathering 25 trade organisations, including 56 city shops, to present their ranges. There are 75 stands for first graders alone.
By Alla Martinkevich
