A mall for the south

A mall for the south
SHILPA BANSAL


Talk about a one-stop-solution for entertainment and Garuda Mall is the name that comes to mind. One of the biggest malls in south India and among the top five in the country, it’s spread over 75,000 sqm and includes 26,000 sqm of shopping and entertainment space. Occupying five floors with 120 stores and two basements, this mall has a chain of retail stores including Shoppers Stop, Westside, Marks & Spencer and Mango among others. Not to forget INOX, the five screens multiplex with 1,150 seating capacity.
Garuda Mall boasts the city’s largest integrated parking complex with enough space to park 1,050 cars!
The mall also has activity centres for children and offers shoppers a wide range of cuisines at the food court with over 20 food counters. The restaurants here include Sikandar and Kobe, serving a range of cuisines.
After the success of this one, Maverick Holdings, the company behind the Garuda Mall concept has taken the idea to south Bangaloreans with Garuda Swagath Mall. This new mall located at Jayanagar IV block is spread over an area of 1,30,000 sq ft and has parking space for 250 cars and 400 two-wheelers.
Uday Garudachar, MD, Maverick Holdings tells BT more about Garuda Swagath Mall...
Garuda is always in the news for controversies. Did it ever come in the way of building Garuda Swagath?
Controversies follow success but I would ask people who’ve been blaming me for violating rules to verify facts before they pull me up. There were two incidents which I felt were baseless. Once, I was questioned about my project plan where effective utilisation of space was called violation. The existing mall has been designed as per new sanctions which had approval for integrated parking, but I was still questioned despite having a partial occupancy certificate. The other blame was for having converted a government workshop land into a mall. The government itself had de-centralised the workshop before approving the mall. But all this is part of business and I never let it come in the way of Swagath mall.
Why did you choose Jayanagar?
Bangalore south never had an organised retail format and it has become a must now. We wanted to come up with an area-centric, neighbourhood mall where people from in and around south Bangalore could hang out without driving all the way to the city centre.
What does this new mall offer?
It’s a small mall catering to the needs of a huge number of consumers. It has the second INOX of the city with a 3-screen multiplex and 793 seats. The experience of movie watching can be enhanced with the food at Refuel, the inhouse brand of theatre food which serves flavoured popcorn, hot and cold snacks, beverages and a variety of combo meals.
It’ll have a Westside store which has numerous sections, including menswear, women’s wear, kidswear, footwear, cosmetics, perfumes, handbags, household accessories, lingerie and gifts. Book and gizmo lovers can find the second Landmark store here. Spread across 30,000 sq feet, Landmark will have the widest range in books, magazines, music, movies, CD roms, toys, home decor and stationery.
Clothing and accessories will be taken care of by stores like Pehchan, Identiti, Liberty Silks, Black Bird and Levis. Pehchan showcases a complete range of casual and formal salwars and dress material. Similarly, Liberty Silks houses designer sarees, salwars and kurtis. Identiti will have a complete range of trendy casual wear for men and women. Women will love the stylish footwear collection at Soles Designer Shoes. Polynation food court by Citimax will be the place where shoppers can grab a bite. Other stores at Swagath include a Nokia showroom, Casio showroom, GK Vale photography and Dev’s Jewellery.
What about the security?
We have security personnel, CCTVs, intelligence officers and other latest security equipment and cameras to track anti-social movements if any. Before the official opening yesterday, we ensured everything was in place.
What are the future plans for the mall?
We’re planning to come up with a health care centre at Swagath shortly. Vriddhi — a health and fitness centre including fitness programmes, yoga, gym and spa is expected to start in the next 3 to 4 months.