A place for the youngsters to hang out and families to shop

A place for the youngsters to hang out and families to shop

The Hindu

`Business is good or else this wouldn't have been running for two years now'

# Malls attract a wide cross section of people
# Brands are categorised product wise
# Different labels are able to feed off one another
# Restaurants and cafes do the best business


BANGALORE: Malls have moved from being the latest fad to a noticeable part of our lives. It is where youngsters go to "hang out", families go for an outing, shopping enthusiasts go on a buying spree, and where various brands desperately seek some space for themselves. But, why there is the desperation? The question many seem to ask is whether these outlets do any business at all. With the majority of people content with various forms of recreation such as movies alongside plain window shopping, does any actual buying take place?

"Why not? Obviously the business is good, or else this wouldn't have been running successfully for two years now," says Naresh, one of the department managers at Bangalore Central. He explains the mall's layout strategy as the key; "It is a seamless mall".

The different brands are all categorised product wise and placed together on the same floor, without any separate stores for each. "And this works well. The competition is healthy and different labels are able to feed off one another," he says.

Keshav, Sales Associate for Gilli, agrees with this. He finds the business here positive, with a monthly turnover of Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 13 lakh.

So are the seemingly aimless crowd then a good thing? Krishna, a floor manager, says, "If there's no crowd, the mall is not happening. One has to attract the crowds. Whether they are shopping, eating, or just looking around, a good mall will have crowds, which, in turn, will attract others." As for the sales these crowds generate, he said out of every 10 visitors, four end up buying something.

Restaurants and cafes do the best business. "We usually just chill in malls. The mood is good, and its good time pass. So we hardly ever shop, but we always end up either in `CCD' or `Java Green' or `KFC'," says Trisha while describing the hotspots at The Forum mall. Pankaj, assistant manager of "Cookie Man", is happy that it has been a profitable venture both in Garuda Mall as well as The Forum.

A rare exception was that of Café Coffee Day at Bangalore Central. Karthik, who is in-charge of the outlet, said the business there isn't good at all. "We make better profits outside. No one comes here to the first floor. More importantly, this place is a non-smoking zone and that really keeps away many people." Rafeeq, store manager of "Coffee World" at Eva Mall, felt sales are not good as it is a comparatively new mall. "But the good thing is that ours is the only coffee shop here and places to eat and drink always do better than the rest," he says.

Namrata, a regular at The Forum, says, "It's true. Most people just cruise through with no intention of buying anything. Especially with really good movie halls also around, a lot of people aren't here to shop as such."

At various malls, sales in most stores turned out to be just about average, and so were their profits, especially taking into account the high rent. Then why do companies still want to be in malls? Most people feel that malls have the added advantage of bringing in a wide cross section of people. Thus, they often have unlikely customers who are probably there for something else but spell sales for them too. Like Dinesh, proprietor of "Candy Treats", said, "Being in a mall works well because so many people come here. And whoever visits our outlet, does buy something. Profits are good even after all the overhead costs."