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!