The city of nawabs enters the mall age

Lucknow -- The city of nawabs and old world charm is going modern with a vengeance with all the big names in the business setting up shop in the half a dozen glitzy malls coming up.

Leading business houses have either already set up base or are in the process of establishing their presence in this Uttar Pradesh capital.

The Wave multiplex marked the advent of the mall culture here about 20 months ago and there has been no looking back since.

Wave was followed by the Sahara group's 'Sahara Ganj' - marketed as the Gen Next version of the downtown market Hazratganj. And last week witnessed the inauguration of Zee group's Fun Republic.

Three more ventures in the pipeline include Singapore Mall, City Mall and Riverside Mall - all in the thriving Gomati Nagar hub.

For the city's booming middle class with increasing purchasing power, there are choices aplenty. Name a brand and it is bound to be available in one of these malls if not at a full-fledged retail store of its own - be it Marks and Spencer, Bossini, Blackberry's or Globus, to name just a few.

Other retail chains like Big Bazaar, Vishal Mega Mart and Citimart have also come up.

And now all eyes are on the arrival of the big-ticket food and grocery retail chain, Reliance Fresh, to be shortly launched by Reliance Industries.

Reliance Fresh has already identified 20 sites in different parts of the city to launch its outlets for a range of products - essentially groceries, vegetables, fruits and dairy products - latest by mid-April.

"Competition is gong to be tough and only players with solid base will be able to survive," warned a senior Reliance official.

However, Zee Mall CEO Atul Goel sees tremendous buying potential. "We see Lucknow emerging as a Rs.6 billion ($136 million) organised retail market and this should ideally witness an annual growth of 20 percent."

"This is the right time (to enter the market). With right brands and attractive pricing, companies with deep pockets and smart marketing strategies are bound to do good business," he added.

Added Shoppers' Stop operations chief S. Ranganathan: "Our target is the higher income segment that is more keen on good quality, luxury and class. We are not here to compete with local retailers."

"Lucknow is now on the move and I am sure the trend is here to stay," is how Rakesh Verma of the upcoming Riverside Mall put it.