The Retale of the Great Hyderabad Mall

Shopping festival destinations? Dubai Shopping Festival, the Great Singapore Sale and the Colours of Malaysia may be the immediate associations. Soon, Hyderabad could well find a pride of place in the elite list, if all goes well and as planned with what's being termed the month-long magnum opus of retail -- the Great Mall of Hyderabad: The Royal Indian Shopping Adventure, from October 13 until November 14.

The AP Department of Tourism and Ogilvy Live, a division of Ogilvy & Mather, which has conceptualised the Great Mall, have put up what they call Asia's largest shopping fest -- claiming to combine the "magnificence, the events, the experiences and the largeness of all the three global events.

The Great Mall of Hyderabad has been timed to coincide with the the Indian festival season of Dussera and Diwali. A time when most Indians splurge on shopping and are seeking great sales, bargains and entertainment.

The festival aims to attract at least three million visitors -- the local city population as well as tourists from across the country, and a large number of NRIs, who usually return to the country around this holiday season.

The festival will be spread over 110 acres at the NAC Grounds, at the Necklace Road, Shilparamam and Lalitha Kala Thoranam.

Over a 1,000 retailers across the city, from categories ranging from jewellery, leather, apparel, consumer durables, art and handicrafts, electronic appliances, food and beverages, music and books, furniture, automobiles, kitchenware and gifts, interiors, footwear, real estate and supermarkets, have tied up for the fest as the official retail participants.

Sansui, National Panasonic, Thompson, TVS, Wipro, Nokia, LG, Sony, BPL, Khaitan, Bajaj, Whirlpool, Blowplast, Titan, Asian Paints, Fiat, Honda, Ford, McDowell's, Nike, TataCellular, and Hyundai are among the companies participating in the fest.

While most of the main participants will be displaying and selling their wares at stalls at four air cooled hangers at the NAC, others would be putting up their wares in stalls at Necklace Road, Shilparamam and Public Gardens.

At the NAC, the Global Pavilion will house international participants. Though initially at least 14 countries were to sign up for the fest, the impending war situation prompted most of them, including Belgium, Switzerland, France and Australia, to put on hold participation plans, and only five countries -- Dubai, Iran, Malaysia, Korea and Japan, have confirmed participation.

But, undettered organisers are accomodating local waitlisted companies and businesses to fill the pavilions -- the other three being the India Pavilion for participants from Indian companies, the Hyderabad Pavilion, for those from Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh, and the Entertainment Pavilion for cultural and music performances by international and national artists.

While designer buses painted yellow with the Mall logo, will be plying the city transporting tourists between venues, hotels are also offering discounts for tourists.

At the Necklace Road, bordering Hussain Sagar Lake, the waterfront market will feature foodcourts, discotheques, pubs, laser and firework shows, besides entertainment events. There is the midnight bazaar that offers unbeatable discount deals on exclusive arts and handicrafts including items like pearls, ceramics, jewellery, ethnic wear, bidri work and lacquer decorations.

For the adventurous, the Hussain Sagar Lake will host the adventure zone, with bungee jumping, giant wheel rides, water sports etc.

The festival has roped in five celebrities as brand ambassadors -- former Miss World Diana Hayden, badminton champion P Gopichand, Ghazal singer Talat Aziz, animal rights activist Amala Akkineni, and beautician Shehnaz Hussain.

The shopping spree sets off with mascot Nemali the Cyber Peacock picking up the first shopping basket at the Pantaloon Retail's Big Bazaar at the MPM Mall in Abids, which opens Sunday to coincide with the fest.

The Big Bazaar, set up over 50,000 sq ft over four levels in the Mall, with an investment of Rs 15 crore, is a discount store stocking 1.5 lakh items across 18 product categories.

The one-stop shopping store, with baseline "Isse sasta aur achcha kahin nahin," offers branded provisions, processed foods, garments, groceries, toys, cosmetics, even a tailor shop, photoshop, sweet shop, bakery, pharmacy etc, its own range of brands such as Rs 99 white shirts and socks at Rs 8.

Besides, the country's first hypermarket -- the RPG group's Giant, offering "Bada Choice, Chota Price," is also offering month-long incentives for customers.

The mood is quite upbeat, the city wears a festive look, but retailers are confident on boosting sales during the fest. Not suprising considering that Hyderabad is on the positive track as far as retailing is concerned.

The supermarkets, hypermarkets and malls just seem to be getting bigger and better. And the boom is only beginning.

Though there are no publicly available studies, the total organised retail market in Hyderabad is estimated at Rs 800 crores, of which the food and grocery itself is Rs 75 to 100 crores per month.

According to a study conducted for a major retailer three years ago, the number of people with high disposal income is one of the highest in the country. Of a base of 11 lakh households with at least one earning member, there are 2.82 lakhs and 2.14 lakhs households with income of Rs 8000 and 10,000 plus. The average annual spend per person here is anywhere between Rs 12,500 to 13,000.

And all this was three years ago. Retailers say the growth has more than tripled in the last three years with the IT boom. There is a rapid and ongoing increase in the intellectual, well-paid and successful people in Hyderabad. There are a high amount of people with US exposure and a large number of NRI returnees. The old city has an immense potential in terms of cash-rich people.

However, organisers are keeping their fingers crossed, conducting an event of this magnitude for the first time. The short span of time seems to be proving a constraint, but this year they are only looking at getting the image and festival right, and not for profitability.

Ogilvy Live, investing Rs 18 crore in the event, has managed to rope in sponsorships worth Rs 6.5 crores from companies like ITC, Tatas, Apollo group, and John&Johnson, for different parts of the fest, and expects to raise Rs 4-5 crores from participant stall rentals. And despite the WTC attacks affecting plans of many an international and NRI visitors, the company expects to raise Rs 7-8 crores from ticketing revenues. Ogilvy hopes the sales tax exemption will attract and make the event a success as will the lucky draws offering fabulous prices. In the Get Lucky Everyday Draw everyday of the fest, shoppers who purchase goods worth Rs 250 from the venues or the city retailers on a particular day will be given coupons that are eligible for the draw next day at 6 pm. The coupons are not valid beyond a day.

The lucky winners walk away with 50-70 prizes a day, ranging from a Rs 5 lakh worth plot of land, 30 TataCel sim cards, 30 Pantaloon gift vouchers, vacation packages from Dyna Resorts, 30 packages from Online media accounting and home managing. There is also a bumper prize of a car during the Win a Car a Week draw.

Though many skeptics wonder whether Hyderabad can ever become another Singapore or Dubai, the denizens of the city as also in other parts of the state will be able to enjoy international shopping experience during the festive month.

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STARS TO LIGHT UP THE SHOW

The weekends at NAC are expected to host some fine events and entertainment that range from dance and music shows by national and international stars, to fashion shows, drive-in cinemas, adventure sports and mini amusement parks. Choose your pick from the tentative list:

October 19 and 20: Bollywood Dandiya: By Aadesh Srivastava and his Bollywood Orchestra with Babul Supriyo. Eminent film and television personalities such as Arshad Warsi, Sandali Sinha, and Himashu Malik expected to grace the show.

October 21: Bollywood Orchestra Nite: Performances by Anu Malik, Abhijeet, Jaspinder Narula, Mink with Dancers. Auction of some famed Bollywood costumes and accessories.

October 26: Divas Nite: Anamika, Suneeta Rao and Mehnaz performing a specially produced Divas Act.

October 27: Rock Show: featuring Euphoria/Silk Route/Indian Ocean

October 28: Ghazal Duos: featuring Roop Kumar and Sonali Rathod.

November 1: Ghazal Nite: Featuring Talat Aziz and his musicians, and dance shows. November 2: Remo Nite: Rock night with Remo Fernandes and his band.

November 3: Hindi Playback Nite featuring Kumar Shanu, Preeti, Pinky, Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan.

November 4: Film Fantasy - Fashion Show Featuring top Models like Sheetal Malhar, Fleur Xavier, Walucha D’souza, Nethra, Rahul Dev, Zulfi, Indersudan, Vidhisa, Nina Samuel, and Dia Abraham etc.

November 5: Bhangra Nite: Punjabi Pop music show featuring performances by Sukvinder, Sukhdev and Joshiley.

November 9: South Film Star Nite: featuring performances of filmstars like Ramya, Manthra, Vineeth.

November 10: Kya Masti Kya Dhuum: A top of the line Bollywood Nite featuring fiery performances from Aamir Khan with the Lagaan team and Gracy Singh, Preity Zinta.

November 11: South Indian Play Back Singers: featuring Yesudas and Chitra.

November 12: Stereo Nation Live -- featuring international band of Stereonation, and Anaida with troupe.

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TAX SOPS

The AP government has announced sales tax exemption on the following categories of products during the festival. So, go get your bargains and discounts: 1. Electronic Goods: 8 per cent 2. Electrical Goods: 8 per cent 3. Refrigerators: 12 per cent 4. Plastic items: 8 per cent 5. Plywood and Laminated Sheets: 12 per cent 6. Furniture other than made in wood: 8 per cent 7. Clocks and Watches: 12 per cent 8. Air Conditioners: 12 per cent 9. Pressure Cookers: 8 per cent 10. Ceramic Crockery: 8 per cent 11. Flasks, hot packs and Casseroles: 8 per cent 12. Cultured Pearls: 1 per cent 13. Other goods taxed higher than uniform floor policy rate would be reduced to uniform floor policy rate. ----------------