Amit Bagaria's Blog

A study has shown that the trading density of most retailers goes down when general mall promotions such as “Summer Hungama” take place.  This is because the quality of footfalls go down due to these loud promotions, which disturb the mental peace of any sensible adult.  Successful malls around the world do not follow such crazy practices, but in India, it is the case of Pier Piper.  Since some idiot started the trends years ago, other idiots have to copy, don’t they?  Because, as Aamir Khan says, we are a nation of idiots.

On an average, malls in Tier-I cities in India can have a total carpet area of between 300,000 to 500,000 square feet.  In Tier-II cities, the carpet area range that will work is between 200,000 to 300,000 square feet.  This can of course change depending upon either location or if it is a super regional mall.  Read more about it in Asipac’s study on India’s largest malls, which is available to download at www.asipac.com or write to us at the address given on our website.

Even though they may be paying a low rent, gyms and salons are very important tenants because they are very high footfall frequency drivers.

The Great Indian Mall Mania will see up to 600 malls up by 2012.    About 90% of current and planned malls fall way short of international standards in design, specifications, safety and security, and have already started witnessing accidents, some even leading to deaths or severe injuries.  A series of accidents at a Bangalore mall has forced state and city authorities to rethink safety standards for malls in the city.  “Why do we take corrective actions and not preventive ones?”  When Indian developers are too keen to make lots of “mall” from the business, why just copy and paste the swanky/glitzy finishes from developed markets, and not public safety & hygiene standards?

Is it because there are no guidelines or norms?  Or due to lack of monitoring?  Or because we just don’t care.   With 1170 million people, how does it matter if 1170 were to lose their life?  Just copying international standards will not serve the purpose, because most markets with successful mall stories (eg. USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Dubai) have little experience of handling the crowds that visit Indian malls.  Managing large crowds needs an altogether different approach, especially in safety and security.  In India, parents’ lovingly let kids move up and down an escalator for sheer fun and even enjoy the sight with parental satisfaction; pedestrians walk aimlessly in parking areas, being blissfully oblivious of where pedestrian walkways are (if there are any), or where driveways are.  The need of the hour is to put in place strict safety guidelines.  It is time to start working towards creating our own safety norms for malls, taking necessary inputs from international standards and experience.