Mall culture ...is it really worth?

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M

MAGNeT

Galvanizer
Well as u all knows now at every knook of location in metros ull find a mall.....

Many people like me who bargains a lot for t shirts which cost 250 on roads Linking road...buy okk type stuff even for 800 buks at malls.....

Well today i made a visit to one of the biggest mall in mumbai...r city mall ghatkopar......Wanted to make a tripe down clothes store but thought since i just want to windows shop i better settle for electronics...and make clothes purchase another day when whole day i m free

First i made a visit to staples shop at 3 rd floor.....and found it to be ludicrously expensive ...Was amused to find same security software selling at 2 prices in same shop....Than decided to settle for croma....even for window shopping....

Was busy all the time watching lcd all around......was amused to see some plasma panasonic tv selling for below 50k for ard 40-50 inch(sorry i couldnt confirm as there were some dvd players below...and whether the model was from old series or not) ...

But what amused me was a guy was asking about samsung led tv....here is the convo...

Guy::what is the difference between lcd and led tv?

Store guy(SG)::lcd means blah blah blah...led means blah blah blah (definition by sg)

Guy::I mean what is the difference?

SG::Its advance and led lies ard the borders(god knows what that means)

Guy::Its written lead free here..what does it mean?

SG::Jus a sec.....santosh come here...(santosh another store guy)

Sg(Santosh)::Yes sir?

Guy::Its written lead free here..what does it mean?

Sg::It means its germs free ......

me:: :oppo:

Guy:: Ok than what does Mercury free written here means.....

Sg::Its related to bacteria sir..this technology are pretty advance they take care about germs ,bacteria.....

me:::chair:

Till this time the persons mom also was listening patiently....but i had on my brains......I decided ill do my review before buying any new stuff from malls

Than just was about to leave got a call from sis to get some exotic chutneys from big bazaar..went in was surprised to get so many stuff under one roofs..so instead of buying a single stuff bought 17 including.....some soups,my favourite top ramen noodles which i cant find at my place......came home thinking i paid a rupee or 2 less on stuff.......but was told that our local banya(kirana turned in mall type shop..on line of subhiksha) gives an extra soup pouch if paid for 2 for which i was happy paying a buk less....means i get at 30% cheaper rate

Later i did analysis and found that we find products cheaper at local store than malls...the only reason people get from them is there is no other option malls....in market we know we will find some better deal at some other corner...but not in malls...the people are just purchasing which makes u feel like a fool if u come out empty hand but on contrary spend extra....last time in same stop lifestyle me and my friend enquired about a shoes which was 2800...friend made whole round of the room and just at another corner of the room same shoes sell for 40% discount....that too same store....

I guess except for clothes for which u can check variety and quality ...malls are time pass stuff.....Agreed that with friends u can pass time at the food corners...but not worth buying every time u go in

Sorry i dont have other citys malls idea ...but this is the case in MUMBAI
 
Damn >_> lot of dots!

I had bad experience with croma- tried my patience with one product that turned out to be defective after a company guy came for installation after 4 days of constant callbacks and then with another which taken another 5 days for the guy to come for installation, but thankfully the product was working fine.

Mom still kept patience and about to buy another product (safe), but when we made the payment and told to take out the safe from the packaging to check, the electronic lock used to start getting jammed and unlock according to its mood, rather than giving another they argued that they will have to RMA it and it will take 4 days time- in other words forcing to take the product. He made some third class comment so decided to make a scene there to scare away couple of customers. They gave the refund. Argument happened because they don't want to give another piece even though its a proven defect infront of them and they didn't want their manager to know about it.

I prefered local places and will stay away from them in the future as well.
 
aditya birla group's "more Mega store " their retail mall venture - 1 day I found the male vests & briefs also tried out by some people :S
duno wht female section have to say :ashamed:
 
They even charge the same softy icecreams 20-25 bucks which is avilble anywhere outside for 5 bucks..everything is overcharged @the malls..dont go there if u want to do anything except timepass & the occasional movies!
 
I feel the shopping malls in Chennai are pretty decent.

You get a variety to choose from, quality assurance, knowledgeable (mostly) sales personnel and reasonable prices in most stores.

The plethora of stores to visit, the range of products to choose from.

One can buy stuff from there and not regret the same.

Indeed a worthwhile experience.

Then there's the obvious :

Window shopping, meeting up, eating at food courts or watching a movie.

SO YEAH, the mall culture is here to stay, be it for time-pass or actual shopping.

Now, for those looking for something specific and on a budget, visiting local stores would make sense !
 
Mall culture tended people to buy unwanted stuff.. Before Mall culture, people used to buy what they NEED. Now, they buy what they SEE..
 
Well for any major products, i would always prefer a dedicated shop. But for groceries etc, you get value packs , offers, new products, bigger range of products, etc which you dont get at local banya.

But yeah "the malls are always better priced" is wrong idea
 
i go to mall to only pick up those stuff which are not available in the local stores in my place. like muesli, fruit juices, cheese, icecream, green tea, etc. i know all this is available even in small stores in mumbai city, but my place has atleast 4 hrs powercuts everyday and stores dont store icecream and cheese etc which need to be stored under refrigeration.

also my place has mostly low budget people so, nobody stocks on fruit juices here. The most you can find here is Rasna packets and Pepsi.

Forgot to add: maybe because of the low budget people, some malls here have closed now. and there's just the one More mall left in my place.
 
food court biryani in bangalore is like eating rice with water.
South indian meals sucks big time in food court.:(

Apart frm tht I buy stuff ONLY when there are discounts:D
 
here in vashi...there are so many malls... people from all over visit them... but i know of very less localites who visit mall that often...unless for movies..

for college students.. its just a lace to hang out..a place where there is no power cuts and there is centralized AC...what else could they ask for in hot and humid condition in mumbai??

apart from that.... there are many who fall for the gimmicks...

and the food bazaar kind of stores have their own policies...

they sell stuff like cold drinks and fast food etc for cheap... but if you buy stuff that doesn't come with MRP... like potato, tomato, different kinds of daal etc... you will realize that these things are generally overpriced... so know your prices before shopping at malls... :)

PS: I hate so many malls generating in navi mumbai... MSEB does not take them under load shedding... and we the public has to bear the load shedding....kinda sucks
 
Well frankly I dont even prefer groceries from malls.

Most of them are nicely packed for good visual impression but are substandard. The stationeries, packed juices are fine.

BTW Magnet about this conversation.

"

Guy::I mean what is the difference?

SG::Its advance and led lies ard the borders(god knows what that means)"

The SG was correct :P
 
Shripad said:
Well frankly I dont even prefer groceries from malls.

Most of them are nicely packed for good visual impression but are substandard. The stationeries, packed juices are fine.
BTW Magnet about this conversation.

"
Guy::I mean what is the difference?
SG::Its advance and led lies ard the borders(god knows what that means)"
The SG was correct :P
Click to expand...

HE meant he didnt showed the screen border but the extreme border of tv the outside edge...

is that true???

My point was even if they are expensive they should as well as spend some money on teaching their staff...how can they say lead and mercury related to germs..where as all we know is its related to carcinogenic stuff related to product we use

Blr too is right they need to take their expense out...but most of the products too they get directly from base....rather than middle level so i guess they could adjust the margin that way.......even my local store which i dont prefer to go(as his price and attitude is always high) sells a stuff for 40 buks..where as in mall same stuff written 55 cancel price 40...making me tempted to buy it
 
There is a place in Yeshwantpur where you get two scoops of ice cream for Rs 6 which tastes pretty much the same as the stuff from corner house/BR.
 
shripad said:
Well frankly I dont even prefer groceries from malls.
Click to expand...

More choice is usually better. Nothing can beat an open market in this regard. You may not always get cheaper but you will be able to select better quality (at the same price) if you have the eye.

magnet said:
..but most of the products too they get directly from base....
Click to expand...

Only if they are a chain so they can buy in bulk. The chain stores will have better prices.

What i don't get is how malls manage to survive ?

As you said everything seems so highly priced. They would not be more malls coming up if they were not profitable. Is it the supermarket effect ? You go in with a fixed idea of what you want to get then start noticing other stuff and buying more than you intended to.

Or hard data that there indeed are ppl with rising disposable income who could keep these places afloat. If so then its a good indicator of how the economy is running :)
 
blr_p said:
What i don't get is how malls manage to survive ?

As you said everything seems so highly priced. They would not be more malls coming up if they were not profitable. Is it the supermarket effect ? You go in with a fixed idea of what you want to get then start noticing other stuff and buying more than you intended to.

Or hard data that there indeed are ppl with rising disposable income who could keep these places afloat. If so then its a good indicator of how the economy is running :)
Click to expand...
Well i read some stuffs way back
The model for big bazaar is first they started with clothes..which is always sold at good or say in worst cases 25% margin of buy price...

Now the present scenario is they giving all stuff under one roof.....no doubt the money spinner is not the food mall stuffs.....but the clothes section ...people though may buy grocery at least theyll have a look at clothes ..earlier it was brands...now they come with their own brand hence more margins......Also they(mall) ready to take entire stock from wholesalers(say pepsi..)...and they ready to pay in timeframe...

Suppose pepsi makes a can in total amount 5 which sells in market for 25.....
Ofcourse local wholesaler will buy say 1000cans....pepsi may give it to them at 20....But malls like bigbazaar are ready to buy 10 lakh or a crore can..which might be the limit of their plant.....theyll give it directly to them for say 9 buks as they(malls) make 40-50% of their payment which is decent enough to run the plant also...and this malls even pass too local wholesalers at cheaper rate...or may be a buk cheaper than pepsi

Now regarding malls surviving well i know few people big uber rich just for the sake of money...makes a mall which finally-hardly survives..as there plan doesnt take care about the consumption or the area they located is not good for business

Kishore biyani has nurtured it from basics......not like subhiksha(on cheap price selling stuffs even worst than rations stores...i guess now they are closed)......or Loot store right now(which cuts other Loot store business in same area...but will survive as its just franchise business)
 
But malls like bigbazaar are ready to buy 10 lakh or a crore can..which might be the limit of their plant.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that just one item unless you are also implying that a mall chain can exercise the same buying power for the different stores it has. The mall acts as a collective to get cheaper price for its prospective tenants.
 
I agree with you completely Magnet. For a detailed analysis lets try & get to the root of the problem.
Actually the mall culture started in a hurry with many Companies stepping in after seeing their rivals implementing their plans. The whole model was half baked, lacked proper vision & ideas to sustain growth.
The staff, right from Managerial level is untrained, rentals are very high & a set system/success model does not exist.
Stores like Subhiksha, Spencers, have vanished without a trace. Others like More, Easy-Day, Reliance fresh, etc. are no better.
I had predicted the failure of Subhiksha, Spencer earlier just after visiting their stores a couple of times. Their staff was completely untrained, unprofessional & lacked the will to sell products. When they were having huge losses, one could see their staff improving but it was already too late by then.
Start from Eatables sections(fruits/veggies), almost all have rotten stuff stored which is no where near in quality to the small shop nextdoor.
Electronics- cheap stuff, lesser known companies, Reliance digital sells at higher rates than the market.
Clothing- Again cheap stuff, lesser known companies & expensive from rest of market.
Grocery- Again products from unknown companies, cheap stuff.

This goes on in almost every sphere these Malls operate in. Though quality stuff is also available but the cheap stuff is in so big quantity that the good products are over shadowed & this is done purposely.

A very big game these malls play is that the products which are advertised to be cheaper or on discounted rates than the rest of the market are those which are fast approaching Expiry date or quality is questionable. So, as a means of clearance, discounts are advertised.

Lines at the billing counters are endless, what's the point of going through inconvenience!
This bugs more so because their is no dearth of billing counters but only 1 or 2 out of say 10 are made to function!

Overall, in the present model, I have lost all love for the Malls. Do go there sometimes for window shopping, passing time, etc. Sometimes shop too but far in between.

Some of the newer Malls coming up are showing signs of change, lets see how they operate in future!
 
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