Showing posts with label mall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mall. Show all posts

19 June, 2022

The rise of Tier 2 towns

Have been on a pan-India tour for the past few weeks, visiting our stores, interacting with my colleagues, our valued franchise partners, mall managers, heads & ecosystem partners and of course, our esteemed customers. I must admit that my trips have been skewed to Tier 2 towns and by design. For, this is where India lives and spends. Over the past 24 months or so, we have witnessed a massive reverse migration from bigger cities to smaller towns, ever since the pandemic led lockdown began. Initially thought to be a short-term trend, things seem to have gained traction all across India for the past 1 year. So much so, that many employees across Industries and companies are now – literally demanding – that they be allowed to WFH with a hybrid model of physical presence at the office precincts.

One’s loss is another’s gain, they say. As a Retailer, I cannot complain!

The photo above was taken early June at Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow’s famed Phoenix Pallasio Mall on a weekday. The 1 million sq.ft. Mall has a dozen or so international luxury brands, 3 dozen+ international premium brands, over 50+ domestic brands and scores of regional brands in fashion and food. This mall is located pretty much in the outskirts of the town and has a neighbour closely, the 6-lakh sq.ft. Lulu mall which opens doors in Q2 FY22. Last week I was at Guwahati, Assam and our Franchise Partners says the state is about to get 8 new malls. At a Starbucks cafe in Bhubaneswar’s Esplanade Mall, I saw for the first time more tables filled with family crowds than anywhere in India! The foodcourts across Malls are overflowing as though there is a shortage of food in some areas (sic). 

This kind of retail upswing in Tier 2 towns is unprecedented at best. As I celebrate by silver jubilee in Retail this year – 25th year since I started scooping ice-cream in 1997, I have seen multiple waves in retail. The first one was around 2001, when modern retail hit the streets. Around 2008, we saw a Mall boom, primarily led by the Metro cities and Tier-2 asking for department store chains like Central, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Westside among others. Around 2014, the retail growth hit a peak with several unstructured malls (zoning wise) either shutting shop or turning coats to become a commercial (offices) dwelling. Since 2017, things swung back to action, especially after the introduction of GST, much to the surprise of economic critics and experts.

We live in a pandemic world – I don’t call it a post pandemic one – because the virus is just here to stay in some form or the other. Just that we humans have become more resilient. Every 6-8 weeks, the Media Industry fuels scare with new statistics, but consumers have been dodging these overtures since Sep. ’21. This shall continue for a while and eventually pass by. But the growth of Tier 2 markets is here to stay for sometime. One big reason for this is that there is money in the pockets of the aspirational middle class. Monsoons have been good for the past 2 years, so has been Agri-production. Oil crisis has been surging ever since the Ukraine-Russia conflict began. But India and Indians have adjusted. The statistic compilation on inflations seems to read otherwise, but that’s more theory I guess. The jobless have remain so by choice, not because there is a lack of opportunity.

While a small group of people were throwing stones and torching trains at Patna Railway station last week, I saw several hundreds of youth at retail stores and malls working earnestly for a better today and tomorrow for themselves and their families. Real estate, residential and empty plots - especially if it is of any indication, then the smaller towns seem to be a better bet in terms of wealth creation. The surge in Tier 2 markets across India seems to be unstoppable, atleast in the Retail sector, one that is integral to me personally and professionally. The rent for retail stores matches metro cities by 1:1, sometimes 1: 1.5 or even more. The challenge is supply (of spaces) and not demand. This will settle down soon, as well.

 

05 April, 2017

D for Delight - Customer Delight

It is an almost daily endeavour for Retailers to “delight” their customers, which is perhaps the highest level of “Customer Service & Engagement”.  Brands like Apple, Gap, Disney, are a few global examples that have delighted their customers, which have become global case studies. Back home, Retailers like Shoppers Stop and Café Coffee Day have set very high benchmarks in Customer Delight which are continued to be emulated by small and medium retailers till date. One such recent example is restaurant chain “Rajdhani” which recently held a special preview for their preferred guests of the “Aamlicious” menu.


We were invited to be part of this special Dinner session on Monday 3rd April 2017 at the flagship outlet of Rajdhani that was held at Phoenix Market City, a premium Mall in the suburbs of Chennai. Even as we entered, the entire team who were eagerly awaiting our arrival welcomed us with a special mango-based welcome drink. The Head of customer engagement was personally present at the event who struck an instant conversation with all the guests. She was open to discuss the current business scenario and informed us that post Demonitisation, there hasn’t been much impact for them since a majority of their customers paid through debit or credit cards.



After a while of socializing, the team started serving the new Aamlicious menu, which is a summer menu with Mango, the King of fruits and the summer special as a central theme. There were starters, salads, entrees, main course items and of course the desserts. The Captain of the table explained each item in great detail and suggested pairing of food with the new Aamlicious menu. Despite our repeated requests, the team went on serving more and more of the tasty items that we were feeling over-fed in just 30-45 mins since starting dinner. I had to take a 5 minute break before the dinner was all over. At the end, we were introduced to the Maharaaj, the Chief cook who comes up with such delicacies year after year through extensive research and analysis of customer preferences.



To experience this menu, reach out to any of the Rajdhani outlets in your city.

So here are some lessons from this initiative of the Food Retailer about Customer Delight which is worthy of emulation by the Industry.

Remember your Customers: Every time you have a special activity, a new product launch or a new menu, do remember your loyal patrons. A single happy customer (like me) will talk about their happy experience to a hundred people.

Product Consistency: If you are in a product business, especially the food business, it is vital to ensure the consistency of the quality of the food items. It is one thing to invite guests but if the quality slips, everything is down the drain.



In-Store Experience: Retail is a business where no matter how many millions are spent on Marketing, Advertising, Branding & Promotion, it is the final experience that the customer encounters at the store that matters the most.

--> Customer Delight is not a destination but a journey which Retailers need to keep working on constantly, every day, every time the customer visits us.

12 June, 2016

Is it Game Over for Malls?


Whose fault is it, I wondered, when I entered this iconic location last weekend. The Mall was nearly empty on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Car Parking area, which is the core identity of any Mall or Shopping centre such as a Retail Store or a Hypermarket was barely full, with a few cars parked intermittently.


The ground floor has a Mercedes Benz Car parked in the atrium, with curious onlookers not even sure if they would like to go closeby. Basics, which has won the hearts of Chennaites being a local brand with an International appeal has shut store. And so have so many stores. Lifestyle Department Store, the Anchor store of the Mall wears a dull look. The security guard at the entrance seems unhappy and bored with almost no visitors for a while. Even some of the food outlets and a café which were doing some basic business seem to be shut. I walked up the Escalator and was surprised to see empty stores all over!



The Foodcourt was the saddest. Half the counters were shut. The one or two who were functioning were neither providing tasty food nor were bothered about customer service. They were just serving a need, of thirst and hunger and nothing beyond. The dining areas was hardly populated, with many tables not even having chairs, forget patrons. Those who were having a meal were merely passersby and I couldn’t notice even a few of them with shopping bags.


McDonalds continues to attract crowds, perhaps the brand pull makes all the difference. The play area did have some crowds, but not sustainable to send them to other parts of the mall.


Inox Multiplex with half a dozen screens was barely empty, with 4 new releases this week. That food prices in the canteen area of Inox is a put off is another blog column by itself! Even then, people should come to watch a movie in the weekend? That was also not to be seen.


Despite being in the centre of the city (and hence its name), why is the mall so empty? What went wrong with the Mall which was once the pride of Chennai? A decade back, rental costs in the mall used to hover around Rs. 180-300 per sft. Now there are hardly any takers. Retailers have shunned the mall. Food Outlets, which would anyway attract crowds and make some decent revenues seem to dislike being in the Mall. Whose fault is it anyway? Is it that the customers walked away from the Mall to bigger and better options such as Express Avenue Mall which is about 5 kms away? Or have they gone farther to the likes of Phoenix Market city or Vijaya Forum Mall?


This Mall has huge potential given its location, a stone’s throw from the Marina Beach and easy access from the rest of South Madras. It has enough parking space for shoppers, enough shopping space, cinema, foodcourt, play areas, what not. With a little bit of effort, this Mall can be turned around. Will the authorities get a good consultant and work in the renovation? Time will tell.

A Firefly finally takes off

Monday - 22 Jan. ‘24 is a very important day in my professional life. I complete eight months today in my role as Executive Vice President a...