Word: malls
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Middle-class Indians are still hesitant about spending in malls because they think prices are higher here," adds Sanjay Singh, owner of Chikankari, a garment store in Noida's Centrestage Mall. Singh acknowledges that he has to pay more for rent and electricity than if his store were outside a mall?but like most retailers, he denies that he bumps up his prices to cover this added cost. Still, many Indians are convinced that mall-based stores charge more, so they tend to keep their wallets closed. According to KSA Technopak, the "conversion rate"?the percentage of visitors who turn...
...glass and metal facade of the Sahara Mall in Gurgaon, a thriving township southwest of New Delhi, looks like a perfect emblem of the new India. Emblazoned with logos of clothing stores, gift shops and fast-food restaurants, the mall's glistening exterior seems to capture the exuberance of India's economic boom. Inside, however, except for a busy restaurant and supermarket, business is sluggish, and many shops are slathered with signs proclaiming SALE. "The customer response has been far below our expectations," says Atul Kaushal, owner of Threads & Toes Mart, a shop that sells jeans and shoes. "Many people...
...planned malls do come up, 70% of them will fail," predicts Vikram Bakshi, managing director of McDonald's (Northern India), which is a prominent attraction in numerous Indian malls. Bakshi, who says McDonald's won't be present in 70-80% of the capital's new malls, points out a fundamental problem facing malls that are already operating around New Delhi: a lot of people come to see them and to enjoy the air-conditioned luxury, but not many spend money there. Usha Varadharajan, owner of The Next Shop, which sells gift items like crockery and soaps in the Centrestage...
...store owners in the malls are unhappy. "It's been a mixed reaction for shopkeepers here," says Daman Sarna, mall manager for Sahara Mall. He points out that the supermarket in his mall is doing good business, although he admits that some of the store owners might not be. Pia Singh, director of DLF Universal, a real estate firm that plans to build 18-20 malls in northern India over the next few years, says stores in the City Centre Mall, which her company opened in Gurgaon in late 2002, are making profits, adding, "That's what gives...
...even retailers who are doing well worry about the plethora of new malls set to open soon. Chikankari's Singh, who says he's satisfied with sales in his shop, is nevertheless concerned about a giant new mall due to open in a couple of years in Noida. "There will be a huge diversion of people into other malls," he frets. Indeed, a cloud hangs over the future of Gurgaon, with up to 20 malls scheduled to open in the next couple of years. New malls will soon be built in the upper-class Delhi neighborhood of Vasant Kunj...