Coimbatore has now got an all new, first of its kind, mega mall thanks to Kishore Biyani (better known for Pantaloons) promoted Big Bazaar, the retail chain to the likes of Wal-Mart in the US. Big Bazaar opened its first ever retail foray into Tamilnadu here in Coimbatore last week at Oppanakara Street.
What Big Bazaar promises is everything under one-roof with mega discounts. I visited it yesterday and indeed I'm impressed. Big Bazaar is famous in Bangalore and other places it operates with the families, where they can tow their children and enjoy an "all under one roof" shopping experience.
First things first. The coimbatore Big Bazaar needs to upgrade its Car Parking facility first. It's cramped and there's not much of a security for the vehicles parked over there. While returning to take my car from there, I saw one Ambassador trying to park and in the process going and hitting a Hyundai Accent, thanks to the "signals" showed by the security over there. When I enquired about this carelessness, the securities over there preferred a cold shoulder.
The same holds true for the people inside. Big Bazaar has lined up a formidable array of employees donning orange Tees and black pants. But the service is really poor. Even if you ask for something, either they don't know much about the product or are interested in roaming around rather than trying to help you out. Maybe initial troubles I guess.
Personally, as a shopper, I prefer shopping in an ambient place without much crowd. For such shoppers, Big Bazaar doesn't hold much. I felt the same as entering Chennai Silks or Ganapathy Silks where it's a mad rush and you are left fending for yourselves.
The place has a Basement level where it's the normal groceries that you will find in any shopping mart (christined Food Bazaar); the first floor has got Utensils, Plastics, Gifts, Books (very few books); second floor has got Apparels and third floor has got electronics and furniture.
In essence, it's got everything under one roof. It's a mind blowing experience, but my first visit had me act as a reluctant buyer, preferring to only check-out things rather than buying. But it had an opposite effect on my wife, who went on a shopping spree, putting me in danger of overrunning my credit card balance.
The only section of interest to men, the electronics place, has got some good offers. One can get an LG DVD player for nearly a 1000/- discount, a laptop for nearly a 10k discount etc. The furniture section was also good, with upmarket trendy cushions at reasonable price.
What Big Bazaar has to look out for is the typical South Indian mindset of studying/analyzing/being choosy of things before buying. They still prefer exclusivity. I'm sure one would walk to a specialized electronics retailer for electronic goods rather than at Big Bazaar. Kishore Biyani and his team should try to overcome this typically tam/mallu character by being more customer friendly and winning their confidence. Again, my interpretation as a shopper.
The place was already buzzing with huge crowds even on a Friday evening. I even saw some mom-and-pop shop keepers visiting this place, trying to asses their newfound Goliath.
All in all, strategically located at Oppanakara Street with the likes of Chennai Silks, Ganapathy Silks and all the other mass retail merchants around it, Big Bazaar is sure going to be a success with the masses.
Here's a video of the place -
RC,
ReplyDeletewhat abt another credit card??