By: Ravi Sinha
Track2Realty Exclusive: Romesh Singh, a resident of Bhiwadi is quite confused with the city that is fast evolving. After having spent around seven years in Bhiwadi, the city is no more the same that he can relate with. The shopping complexes, malls and the emerging lifestyle is something that he thought is meant for metro cities. But the retail revolution in this till only recently sleeping city has changed everything, adding to the lifestyle choices and hence confusion among people like Romesh.
While the experienced players in the retail format are flocking to Bhiwadi with a number of malls in the pipeline, the property analysts are wondering whether there is a method in the madness. Will the small town conservative spending of Bhiwadi actually transform into mall culture? Will the retail chains that have opened their stores in the city through franchisees make in-roads? Beyond this debate from the transition of a small town city to metro lifestyle, the financial analysts have another reason to worry—how long will the gestation period be for the malls to break even?
The retail chain has no doubt made entry into Bhiwadi and around 10 malls in the pipeline suggest the city would be witness to a retail revolution in the next few years. However, what is a worrying factor is the fact that the lifestyle pattern has not changed in the city. Though some analysts believe the more matured property market in Gurgaon also took time to catch up with the lifestyle choice and it was only after 5-7 malls and the same number of years that Gurgaon became a destination for retail chains.
Having said this, when malls started coming up in Gurgaon, this part of the world was not exposed to this kind of quality retail experience. That, however, should not be story for Bhiwadi where a large number of Gurgaon-Manesar workforce has already settled. Moreover, Bhiwadi is strategically well located to stand as the extended Delhi-NCR status. What then is the deterrent for Bhiwadi to catch up with the upmarket lifestyle choice?
Analysts believe that it will take time to transform the city from one mindset to another. Gurgaon also took 4-5 years after 15 malls came into being operational. 3-4 years down the line mall will become a habit. As of now Reliance footprint, Levis, Lee etc are not doing well.
After all, brands want to be everywhere, whether it makes a business sense or not time will tell. Now that franchisee model is the norm. Malls in Bhiwadi are just 6-8 months old with hardly any exposure beyond neighbourhood kiraana. Malls don’t have magnets that could bring the middle class out there, like McDonalds. Brands are new and lifestyle will take time to catch up.
It is a transition phase of lifestyle. Experts maintain it is also a learning curve for the city in understanding how to conduct themselves beyond their confined social surroundings, even though experience in mall is good.
Today, the mall in Bhiwadi has a moderate success in transforming the lifestyle of the people over there. According to him, people in Bhiwadi have now become brand conscious and found a liking to good food and branded clothes. The growing habitation will only increase this.
It is not that the brands are not flocking to Bhiwadi; rather the pace of growth has been rather slow in terms of raising the bar of aspiration. Brands have been realizing the potential of the city and mall developers expect that very soon they may see bigger brands enter the market as more space is made available – space which is strategically located and viable for both consumers and the brand itself.
