Mohandas, Mont Blanc and the Mahatma!

An eye for eye will make this whole world blind, said Mahatma Gandhi. Kamal Hassan, ace actor/director of Tamil Cinema recently co-produced a movie titled “Unnai Pol Oruvan” which translated in English means “Someone like you”. The movie is a remake of the recent Hindi super hit movie “A Wednesday”. The protagonist plays a dark role throughout the movie, only to reveal in the end that he was just reacting like a “stupid common man” scared of his environment who demands the Commissioner of Police of the city to discharge four terrorists only to kill them himself through a bomb explosion triggered through a mobile phone from a remote location. Interestingly, one of the characters is named “Karamchand” who plays the role of an “arms dealer & smuggler”. Kamal Hassan, who holds the world record as a male actor having played maximum number of roles, ten to be precise in the 2008 super hit Dasavathaaram (meaning 10 roles) has conspicuously named this character so. Many would know that “Karamchand” is the middle name of the Mahatma, which goes like “Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”. When I saw this aspect on the movie, I was happy that the movie released two weeks before the Mahatma’s birthday – Oct. 02nd as I thought it was an insult to use the name of the Mahatma for a smuggler and a supporter of terrorists (even though it’s just a movie!). Kamal, 56, who is celebrating 50 years in Indian cinema, always had a different take on the Mahatma’s approach – of non violence and abstinence. In his previous movie on a similar subject “Hey! Ram” (the last words uttered by the great soul after he was shot dead by a Hindu sympathizer who along with many others believed that the Mahatma was solely responsible for the partition of India and creating a new entity named Pakistan) the hero goes to actually kill Gandhi. But before that someone else shoots him. It’s a shame that the legendary actor took this approach in his recent film where he propagates that the answer to terrorism is counter-terrorism. As actors, what they say is what they feel and hence, it is obvious to assume that this is the actors’ personal belief too.



While the whole country is getting ready to celebrate the Mahatma’s birthday next week, an international brand has used (or rather abused) the Mahatma’s name once again. After all, Luxury and the Mahatma do not go hand-in-hand. Gandhi, popularly known as the “Father of the nation” was a Barrister-at-law, worked abroad, returned to India and fought for India’s Independence. He believed that “non-violence” was the only way to fight or protest; His “Quit India” movement against the British was the turning point in the 200 year history of India’s freedom struggle and successfully ensured the country attain Independence at the stroke of the midnight on Aug. 15th, 1947. In the last part of his life, he wore only handloom products – a dhoti (wrap around) and a towel made of cotton (a natural fabric) while he and his supporters used the famous charka to loom cotton at his ashram near Sabarmati in Gujarat. He believed in simple living and intellectual thinking. While he never restricted his followers or well wishers to wear or use expensive products, he himself never used any such thing in the better part of his life.



World’s leading maker of luxury writing instruments Mont Blanc has announced the launch of the “Gandhi Limited Edition” in two collections, one that has 241 pens and the other 3,000. 241 is the number of miles that the Mahatma walked during the “Dandi march” over 24 days – he was protesting the salt regulation by the British and undertook a padayatra or a walking march from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi. And the other collection has 3,000 pens, the number of followers who joined him in this march. In the 241 collection, the pens are made of White Gold with 18K Gold threading and an Opel stone on the clip, which costs INR 11,39,000 (USD 23,729). The Luxury Brand promises to donate INR 50,000 (USD 1,040) for every pen sold to The Red Cross Society. In the other collection, every pen is made of Sterling Silver, Ivory lacquer and a garnet stone on the clip. While the Roller Ball is priced at INR 1,47,000 (USD 3,063), the Fountain Pen is priced at INR 1,67,000 (USD 3,480) and even has an imagery of the Mahatma on its gold-plated nib! The Brand promises to share INR 10,000 (USD 208) for Child Literacy for every pen that is sold. While half the total production would be sold all over the world, the other half is available across leading Mont Blanc boutiques in India. During a press conference in the first week of October ‘09, the Luxury Pen would be officially launched by the Brand.





While I have nothing against the Brand (I am myself a connoisseur of the Noblesse Oblige Roller Ball, an awesome Meisterstuck Visiting Card Holder and a Pencil and spectacle frame in the offing), I am surprised that the over-100 year old brand which is synonymous with “High Quality Writing” has taken this approach to make inroads into India. While I wouldn’t be surprised if this collection gets completely sold out in less than a year, I am yet to come to terms if this was the best approach for the Brand to reach out to the country at large. This blog is probably my first (and hopefully last) on Brand-Bashing, but I would never appreciate such an approach. While Corporate Social Responsibility is essential in today’s scenario, there could have been other themes than Gandhi to get popular. Many Organizations undertake CSR for the heck of it without meaning it really. Fine. But please, for nobility’s sake, spare Gandhi. Let him continue to show his smiling face on picture frames and postal stamps. And let's enjoy a public holiday every year on his birthday. My sincere apologies for this insult, dear Mahatma.

Hypermarkets, Austerity and the Cattle Class!

Aditya Birla Group, one of the biggest names in India Inc. which runs the “more.” chain of Retail Stores across the country is opening its first “more.” hypermarket today in Bangalore. This structure, on the Outer Ring Road between KR Puram and Marathalli has been in the making for quite some time and is now ready to open its doors to its esteemed customers. The frontage which is almost 15 meters or more in length and over 10 meters in height is enough to inform people that they are “opening shortly” with the trade name going up many weeks ago, indicating their arrival – a smart move of creating curiosity and at the same time, being straight-forward about the business foray; something that many Brands are reluctant to do. Wishing them good luck on this endeavor; after all, they are entering one of the most mature and fiercely competitive markets in India that already has The Future Group’s Big Bazaar, the Tata’s Star Bazaar, the Landmark Group’s Spar, etc. Will write a review on how the store looks like after visiting it over the weekend.

Coming to Cattle Class – well, enough has been talked about its origin, cause, effect, vision, reason, result, etc. over the past few days. As a marketing guy, I always believed that any publicity is good publicity and that’s what Twitter has got over the week. I can imagine how many people who didn’t know what it was would have “googled”… errr, I mean searched on the internet. So, we know who has benefitted the most. Twitter and Google. Having said that, why should our politicians stop their austerity drive with flying economy class on air? Wouldn’t it be a good idea for some of them to start shopping themselves (and get rid of their innumerous maids and helpers at home whom the Govt. pays with the taxpayers’ hard earned money). And they must shop at Hypermarkets. The new wave of Organized Retailing in India.

It’s over 9 years since the Future Group ventured into the Big Box wholesale-like retail model. Not many would know that it was Saravana Stores in T.Nagar, Chennai, which was the inspiration for Mr. Kishore Biyani, Founder & CEO of the USD 2.5 Billion Future Group to take Organized Retail in India to the next level. Saravana proved that everything from groceries to household utensils to jewelry to sarees and dress materials (and some food and beverage to manage hunger and thirst while shopping) could be sold under one-roof. Yes. All under one roof! That’s because we Indians love to shop that way, makes life easier. With congested roads and busier lifestyles, families prefer to shop together and for an occasion. Of course, I am referring to Gen X and behind. My favorite Gen Y and Gen Z, the Mall Rats, prefer to sit at Coffee Shops to spend some “quality” time with their friends. The teens and tweens are the future of India, so might as well let them to do so. After all, consumption always leads to growth.

So, Hypermarkets are the “in-thing” now. With global downturn having some impact in almost all our lives, however small or big, it seems to be quite fashionable today to talk about “savings” made on shopping. Even the party-poopers are talking about the discounts that are up for grabs at their favorite Fashion outlets that sell chic and trendy clothes and accessories. From CEOs to their housekeeping boys, it is but natural that consumers are now moving towards the Hypers and accepting them as a way of living. Someone said, “Money saved is money Earned…!!!???!!!...

So, the next step for our netas and abinetas (who are also netas) would be to shop at Hypers. No Cattle class here, atleast, no one would say that anymore. And give a comforting smile to the Aam aadmi. Hopefully, they will pull crowds to these stores, many of which are starving. If not to shop, crowds would gather atleast to have a glimpse of these famous personalities. Just that the security guards and the Operations Manager of the store would go mad. Managing the crowds, not inside but outside. Whichever way, we need more footfalls now. And I mean, Now.

Nipping in the Bud

Most of us were watching closely the developments on the recent strike called for by the pilots of Jet Airways, India’s most respected and the oldest private airline which recently celebrated its 12th Anniversary. Over 600 pilots reported sick – various forms of disorders from mild headaches to nausea to even diarrhea on a Tuesday morning until the impasse was broken and a final accord reached the following Saturday. As per IATA guidelines, a sick pilot (If he/she claims to be) is unfit to fly and this method was adopted by the pilots to show their protest against the sacking of some of their colleagues. The issue why the pilots were sacked was forming “National Aviation Guild”, a body of pilots from the airline that would coordinate a number of activities for their members which would include liaising with the management on various issues, the Government bodies and other agencies and to provide support and relief in times of emergencies or need. Clearly, it was similar to a Union if one looks at it that way. At the face of it, it looks fine – after all, Unionism was a way of collective living!

Naah. That’s not the way the Airline Management looked at the issue. The company plans to raise funds very soon for sustaining and expanding their business and investors would be weary to put their money in a company that has a large Union voice. Apparently, there are other reasons why the Management didn’t want a union set-up which continue to remain confidential. What started as a face-off emerged into the darkest times for the company and its visionary Chairman, Mr. Naresh Goyal. He was always known for his surprise decisions, but were mostly in the interest of the company – be it buying out the erstwhile Sahara Airways or sacking and immediately reinstating the next day over 2,000 crew members who were on probation or forging a strategic alliance with rival Kingfisher Airlines or cutting over 60% of its regular flights into a new avtar, Jet Konnect, a low cost no-frill airline, that has helped the company save lots of money. While commenting on this issue, he even said that he doesn’t mind closing the airline but wouldn’t take such steps that are not in the best mutual interest for all concerned. Rightly said, I guess.



The result of this unsavory drama was a lot of time and money lost that cost the company Crores of rupees as operating losses (especially during the current times when the Indian aviation industry is already under serious pressure due to lack of adequate revenues). And to set things right, the airline took advertisements on major dailies to communicate to their key target segment that they are now back in action. Most of us around just wondered – would this do away the negative feelings associated with the once “most trusted” Indian airline brand? Would consumers (passengers) shy away from this airline due to this episode?

Probably, not in India. As a race, I believe we are a set of people who move on, and quite quickly in that. Be it personal or political or social or even international issues, we do not take it to our heart and mull over for too long. Let me share an example. There was once this small retail store in a nonchalant location called Mandaveli in South Madras, which sold many household products including grocery at cheaper prices. The pricing was similar to that of the Govt. owned PDS, but the products sold were of superior quality and a new shopping experience that Madrasis (like my family and I) were not used to. And then, the Retailer grew bigger and bigger, from one city to another and from one state to another. And then the IPO and some external funding. And suddenly, it was a behemoth – by size, as well as debt burdens. Unable to pay the vendors’ dues on time, employee’s salaries on time and the bank’s interest on time, and finally, one day, it had to shut shop. It was so closely associated with the burgeoning modern retail in India, but after six months of its closure, many consumers do not remember the retailer anymore. They had some of the best locations and are now taken over by fellow retailers or someone else for some other purposes.

The case in address is similar and interesting from a Retail perspective. Jet was fighting fire every time in the past with a small extinguisher rather than resolving the source of its problem. There were a multitude of reasons for its employees, mainly pilot’s resentment. Every time an issue came up, some key personnel from both sides would get into a room and resolve the same. And everything was normal the next morning. Until hell broke loose.

Many of my colleagues in the Indian Retail Industry today would agree that it’s the same across many retail organizations. There was a possible formation of a Union backed by a regional heavyweight in Western India a few years back. The promoter whose direct political lineage is almost nil, somehow managed this well. But this could emerge once again, sooner than later, if not in the same city, elsewhere. With Retailers demanding an Industry status and already employing a sizeable number of the population, which is expected to cover over 15% of India’s population over the next seven years, this is only set to become a bigger virus sooner than later. Once again, I am not averse or against the formation of a Union or a Body – as long as it helps to achieves superior Customer Service. I have always advocated that highest standards of customer service can be/ and would be achieved only by taking care of the employees, especially those at the front-end. Many would agree, “If we don’t take care of our employees, someone else will’.

The recent Jet saga is a great anecdote for us. For something that should never happen again in India. Imagine any one of India’s leading Retailer shutting shop for a few days when its employees go on strike! No customer would ever return, as they would not want to be shopping in an environment that’s not conducive. We, the Retailers must be thanking M/s X, Y, Z, A, B and whoever lead the pilots to strike work (for their ulterior motives). Something that must be nipped in the bud by Retailers – you would only agree with me that no amount of advertising would help, and by the way, the banks wouldn’t be lending to take such advertisements anyway.

Old wine in a new Box...

After a long time, I had the opportunity to visit the Garuda Mall last week. I had a three hour layover between two meetings and I thought it was most apt for me to spend time there and I also had a lot of reasons to visit (I am not an avid shopper though, rather an ever-curious retail student who prefers to watch people buy!). It was quite easy to reach Garuda – I was coming from Marathalli so, after some twists and turns, finally reached the place. Parking was smooth – found a good spot in Basement 2. Bright Red Advertising from Airtel welcomed while claiming proudly that there were full signals and network there – I didn’t test as I use a Vodafone, but it was a strong communication and reaffirmation of their service, I thought.

Whenever I visit a mall, I usually start from the main entrance – and that’s what I did. Something’s never change – I wondered where these fence sitters come from. I was part of the clan a few years ago and now I am not. It was our favorite spot to sit, smoke, chat, take crucial business decisions, et al. And I found similar instances even now. Bustling of people entering and exiting the mall, continuous but moving traffic on the roads (that have a traffic flow that only the creators would understand) and a light drizzle – a great environment to get parked! But I wasn’t there for that, of course.

Entered the Atrium – again as crowded as ever. There were simultaneous promotions happening – a couple of MCs engaging the crowd with various activities. Walked all along the floors – Marks & Spencer’s announcing their “Final Reductions” and the new Esprit Store attracting a few good shoppers. Westside and Body Shop tucked in their corners and the Swatch island replaced with some popular brand that sells Jewelry and Watches. Nothing much was different in the first and second floors – except some changes in the Brands that occupied earlier who chose to move out – Benetton and Bossini among them. Then walked back to the Ground Floor to enter Shoppers Stop – it was the last day of their “End of Season Sale (upto 51%)” and as always, last minute shopping by busy-bees who had no time to shop earlier.

There is something that this Retailer has done – which probably no one else has in that way. They attract the highest number of footfalls into the Store. The most relevant, the least relevant, the irrelevant, Jack, Jill, Tom, Dick, Harry and Me. Notably, the conversions increase during the Sale, as many shoppers love to take advantage of the season. Am not sure how many hold back their purchases like before – after all EOSS was only twice a year. But this has changed now. With Factory Outlets springing up all over the city and specific shopping districts getting created, the essence of Discount shopping seems to have lost its relevance anymore. So what if one doesn’t shop during the Sale, the Discount Store is a (fun) drive away anyway. I guess EOSS would slowly but surely lose its sheen significantly. Something that’s not so good for Brands, as a tenth of shoppers who visit the stores during the Sale come back to buy merchandise later on. All the three floors were so crowded and as usual, air conditioning not at its best, suffocation was sure in sometime. After visiting almost all corners, I exited back into the second floor.

And noticed there was a near-stampede in one of the shops. Curious enough, when I went close by, I was told that a new Brand was being launched and a mini catwalk being organized inside the 50 sqm store! Wow. No wonder, there were more people outside the store than inside. The event promoters who were standing outside hosting chocolates, snacks and some tit-bits proudly offered and claimed the Brand was doing all this for seeking attention. Fake Customers – I remembered I have read this before. I believe some brands, especially high end fashion brands and some jewelry stores actually bring in fake customers to crowd the outlet, thereby increasing the visual appeal of the Outlet from outside. They don’t buy anything buy generally hang around till such time crowd picks-up. I hope what I read this somewhere was untrue.

Later moved on to the Food court – named Pit Stop. There was nothing sporty or F1 related there but for a rare poster of some racing car or driver. Many of the initial occupants have moved out and some who came later have also moved out. The ones who still continue are either making money marginally or are forced to stay on for other reasons – mere presence being one. Subway and Shiv Sagar (who sells the local snacks) were attracting the highest footfalls – one which offers consistent high quality food and the other, that’s easy on the wallet. The erstwhile fine-dine restaurant has been replaced by another – don’t know if it makes any difference to mall hoppers – after all, the Mall Restaurants are rarely destinations.

And the floor above, INOX Cinemas, was the biggest surprise. Most of the movies on the menu screen were showing green – indicating that seats were still available for the upcoming shows, even for the latest hits across all languages – Kannada, Hindi and Tamil. Wonder, if people are shunning the cinema halls mainly because of the content or other fears such as H1N1 or if the “recession effect” had still not reduced. Whichever way, the "once-busy long queue" sight of the Box Office (the ticket counter) looked deserted – with very few aspirational ones standing for tickets.

Overall, the Mall looked an old wine in a new box… errr, bottle. Lot’s more needs to be done – to attract shoppers to this place; to begin with, better maintenance of rest rooms and orderly car parking at reasonable rates. Remember, a new one is in the making, giving final touches at Malleswaram.

Selamat Datang in Malaysia

I had been to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last week to speak at a Conference. This was my second visit to KL, although my previous visit lasted only a few hours – my former colleague and I had gone to attend a business meeting and returned the same day. There is something so special and magical at KL – it’s traditional yet modern; slow-paced (compared to many other cities in SE Asia) but fast in its own way. What I loved the most about the city was its infrastructure – right from the Airport – the gateway to any city or country to the skyscrapers – I could just say Wow all over. I was told that the Government has allotted an area admeasuring 10*10 sqkm for the Airport which handles over 25 million pax a year and is rated No. 1 among its peers in the segment. There is a High Speed Rail from KL International Airport to the City Centre; a distance of about 60 kms covered in just 28 minutes. And the best part is the rear side if the ticket thanks the user for helping reduce the Carbon footprint (compared to, if one had traveled by road which would take between 60-90 minutes!). And the train ride takes just about MYR 35 – that’s about INR 420 or USD 9. Superb. And Efficient. Something similar to this has been underway in Bangalore too and we hope to see this soon.



There has been a good penetration of Retail in this city – from mainline bargain retail to premium Department stores to High – End boutiques! The city offers so much as one can take to the city's residents as well as the millions of tourists who throng the place every year. One such latest addition to the city is the Pavilion Mall. A magnificent piece of architecture hosting some of the classiest brands spread across seven floors with massive parking lots. The most brilliant element is the layout itself. And for the first time, I saw that the Brands on the ground level had access from the roadside as well as from inside the Mall; something that’s uncommon in India as the Mall developers here believe that shoppers would in that case, avoid visiting other outlets than the ones that they originally planned to.



Look at the view from the main entrance – an attractive line-up of Shops across levels and the Atrium put to its best use! There was a promotion related to Hennessy XO and was inviting curious onlookers to have a glance of what the special beverage is all about. And the colorful row of outlets across all floors which is visible from every nook and corner of the mall makes it quite an interesting view. The walkways do not have corners or ends – they gradually swirl and that makes it smooth while shoppers are walking. The top most floor – is aptly named Seventh Heaven; it features some of the best in class personal therapies.



And the best part is the basement floor. I have never seen such an eclectic mix of F&B Brands across various malls in South Asia. Food Republic, a chain of food courts in this part of the world operates the larger portion of this floor which boasts of street food from almost every popular Asian city – perfect in taste (apparently) and easy on the wallet. In fact, this is the only floor that had the maximum number of people than anywhere else in the Mall… Apart from this, there is a full floor dedicated to gourmet cuisine – from Japanese to Indian to other favorite Asian and International varieties.

The only thing I never understood quite well was that the Mall was one for everyone –From the Tangs Department Store mainly targeted at budget consumers to the marquee ones such as an Omega/Rolex Mono Brand Outlets, Gucci/Prada Boutiques and so on, the Mall has everything for the discerning shoppers. But the Question is whether such a model will work? I am not sure about the way people shop in Malaysia but in India, I doubt if it would. I don’t buy the logic that budget shoppers would get enticed into the Brand Boutiques or Gourmet Restaurants. As I write this article, there are not too many such malls (atleast that I know of). But I know of something that’s coming up. Will do my research and share my thoughts again. For now, Selamat Datang in Malaysia, ie., Welcome to Malaysia! One of the most tourist-friendly locations and one, that’s very Asian, as their campaign goes!

OMEGA - The End...

Many of you would have been noticing something unique on the masthead of the Times of India newspaper all through July & Aug. Swiss watchmaker Omega has been showing two small pictures of its models – Seamaster, Speedmaster, Constellation, DeVille, etc. While advertising on the masthead is not unusual, a brand such as Omega taking this approach in India is quite surprising. In India, the sale of premium and luxury watches picks up from Aug. onwards, especially with the upcoming wedding and festival seasons. Most Brands take either a first page solus or near the business pages, targeting the right set of customers. These ads actually set the mood – I doubt how much of purchase influence do they hold on a prospective buyer. And even more, when the ambassadors endorsing their watches are featured. For example, would someone buy a Tag because King Khan sports it? Are consumers so emotionally attached with the Brands such that their reasoning is impractical and loyal to their stars? Well, that’s a long debate one could have for hours or even days together. For sure, this would create excitement and lead consumers to the Retail Stores. It’s good to have footfalls coming in, isn’t it?

Coming back to Omega – in 1848, Louis Brandt set-up an assembly workshop to assemble precision pocket watches. In 1937, waterproof watches were launched and in 1943, automatic watches. Since 1969, it is the first and the only watch to land in the moon! From Cindy Crawford to Michael Schumacher, George Clooney to Abhishek Bachan, even James Bond uses this time-machine, in reel and real life. Such is the glamour of this particular watch that it is usually identified with its bracelet – with its unique and outstanding design. The Seamaster – a deep diving watch has a second crown (at 10 ‘o’ clock) which is a helium reverse valve, to allow helium out of the watch after diving at great depths. While the blue one has been around for some time, the black one is new in the market.



They say OMEGA means “The End” (the last and the 24th letter in the Greek Alphabet). I am not sure why this Swiss watchmaker named this Brand so. For me, it’s the beginning. My new Omega Seamaster that I got a few days ago and my resignation! Yes, I have resigned from my services today from BIAL after over three years in the Travel Retail Business. My next assignment is back in mainline Retail – shall write about that soon. For now, I am treasuring my new steel toy - when awake and while asleep!

When you mean Value!

Over the weekend, I visited the latest commercial addition in Bangalore, The Forum Value Mall at Whitefield (just a few minutes away from India’s silicon valley). Conceived over four years ago, the Value Mall was supposed to be Marathahalli (India’s largest Factory Outlet’s district) in a box! The Mall doesn’t have a common HVAC, which means that there is no air-conditioning, in the common areas, although every store is provided with individual facilities. The very thought that there wouldn’t be a common HVAC was a smart one, given the fact that the cost of electricity (and the running maintenance of equipments) forms the largest chunk of the Malls’ expenditure which in turn is passed on to the tenants as CAM (Common Area Maintenance). This was already tried by The Prestige Group who are the developers of this Mall, in their previous attempt - the EVA Mall on Brigade Road. So, it was possible to operate such a Mall in Bangalore where the weather is pleasant almost through out the year.

I remember (I used to be with Benetton those days) there was a big discussion among the Retailers’ community on the success of this model – whether shoppers would step in for such an experience. It was nice to see it live in action shoppers actually thronging this place, notwithstanding the impact of H1N1 flu (some extra-cautious ones were seen sporting masks too!). Although 80% of tenants have occupied and commenced business, some prominent ones are yet to.

The Mall is spread over 300,000 sft across four floors. MegaMart is the largest shopping anchor for the mall, while FAME Cinemas is the entertainment anchor. Tommy, Esprit*, Benetton, Nike, Reebok, Levis, Pepe, Lee, Neerus*, Bata*, Bulchee, Loot Mart, are among the other smaller outlets spread between 1,000 – 3,000 sqft. McD* (Ground Floor) and MTR* (First Floor), as F&B anchors, are expected to draw good crowds even during the weekdays. Cookieman, Daily Bread and Juice Booster, all F&B Brands again, operate on the ground floor – something that is usually unusual by Indian standards. The Transit food court with half-a-dozen operators including Subway, Pizza Corner, Mama-Mia Gelatos and other local delicacies, is already functional on the top-most floor. Two escalators next to each other in opposite directions are located at the fag end of the Mall on each level. Toilets are situated on all floors along with emergency stair cases. The most attractive element is the central Atrium spread over 10,000 sft and a sky roof – a tensile material that covers from the top such that rain water wouldn’t enter (hopefully) and would also provide natural daylight. The Atrium is also used for various promotions – temporary kiosks and as an inaugural attraction, there was some loud DJ music with other acts by artists – not surprising as this Mall is jointly operated by CapitaLand, which operates over a dozen Malls in Singapore where such things are common to see throughout the year. There is a specialty restaurant, Toscano (yes the same one at UB City) on the second floor, Sony Center, Onkyo Store, Access 2 Future (Computer peripherals and accessories), Whizz Photo Studio, Metro and Soles footwear, and even a saree and sherwani shop plus a Forex Money Changer! An entertainment zone for children is yet to open.
* The ones that are yet to be functional.

Ample parking is available (probably for over 300 cars) while the multi-level parking areas are two-ways, something that’s again uncommon in India. So drivers must be extra cautious especially when they take left-turns (that’s how the traffic is managed and a good thought again, given the fact that we are used to driving on the left). The most unexpected good thing however was “Free Parking” – probably coz the Mall is new and the Management is expecting to draw new crowds. Whichever way, it was pleasantly surprising to see that almost everything was so well organized. Great job done, once again and am sure they would keep up to their reputation – after all, the group manages the Best Mall in South India - The Forum.

Conspicuous missing includes an ATM/Bank, a Pizza Place and a Super Market. There is always a great round of debate on Super Markets at Malls – whether it would work – for the Retailer as well as for the Mall. Well, it must be remembered that the frequency of individuals and families visiting Supermarkets (in India) is about 4-6 times a month, which means that such an outlet would bring steady footfalls, even on weekdays. A Pizzeria (I mean the Dominos or Pizza Hut or the other new ones), although are present almost in every Mall are important crowd-pullers. A Bank would have also done wonders, probably facing roadside, given the fact that this is more or less a neighborhood Mall. An ATM with cheque drop boxes would have been useful for shoppers, especially the IT fraternity that spends more through plastic than paper. A 24/7 Gym would have brought in the health-conscious who reside in that area frequently to the mall! Who better knows that “Health is Wealth”.

However, one cannot ignore the uncanny choice and placement of certain Brands – how can a “Value” Mall boast of a high-end boutique restaurant, an international QSR Chain, Ice-cream and Juices that’s cost over INR 60 for a portion (and that too in prime space). The argument that shoppers would come to shop their favorite brands at lower prices and would end up at the expensive food outlets is a myth – atleast as I feel. The Value and Brand conscious consumer who walks into this Mall to buy his favorite Tommy or Esprit is not the types who would spend INR 800 for a meal for two at the Boutique Restaurant or a similar sum at the Food Court for a family of four. Not that he/she doesn’t see value in it, ofcourse the food is awesome and of high quality but he’s probably not the best target. On the other hand, those who frequent such places may not be the ones to wear discounted stuff – two or three seasons old. Now, this is something I am personally waiting to watch – how consumers perceive this model. After all, Value for me is different than what it means for you. Let’s see.