Shoppers' paradise in Chennai

All set to become the retail hotseat of Chennai, the Express Avenue is a venture of Express Infrastructure Private Limited which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Express Newspapers Pvt. Ltd. (The Indian Express Group). It is an initiative by Ms Kavita Singhania, Managing Director of Express Avenue. Her visionary mind observed that despite being the venue for lots of flourishing modern retail formats, Chennai was lacking a world class shopping experience unlike other metros, such as Mumbai and Delhi. With Express Avenue, Express Infrastructure brought Chennai to the forefront of fashion in India.  Express Avenue is being built on a family owned estate. Being in the heart of the city in a central business district, the location for Express Avenue is a winner from the word go. “Yes we did use professional agencies to ascertain the catchments and also customer preferences”, confirms Mr Dheeraj Dogra.

The USP

While explaining the USP and tenant mix of the mall, Mr Dogra comments, “The Express Avenue is definitely a destination mall. The depth of the retail mix at Express Avenue, with mass, middle of the road and luxury brands, all zoned but under the same roof, is bound to be the first in India. Similarly its mixed-use status with a hotel and commercial spaces on either ends makes it a home to the single largest captive audience for a shopping mall.  Express Avenue is going to house approximately 200 brands.”

“The positioning of Express Avenue is very unique. We don’t intend to direct the mall to any particular strata of society. The mall has it all, a mass market, a mid market and a premium/luxury brand mix. We have left it to the end-customers to relate to it, based on their own perceptions, hence to some it would be a mass mall and to others it could be a premium/luxury mall”, he further adds.

Developer-retailer collaboration

To give fillip to the organised retail, retail real estate developers and retailers should collaborate. The idea is simple. “It’s got to be a win-win situation for both the retailer and the developer for making a mall to be a successful shopping destination. One sided relationships are bound to fail in the long run. The retailers have to understand that the land prices in India are amongst the highest in the world on account of increased demand, which in turn is a  direct result of the country’s high GDP growth and ever growing middle class segment in India. Similarly, the developers have to make an earnest attempt to understand the business models of the retailers. Both retailers and developers have to maintain highest levels of transparency, and should look at partnering by means of revenue sharing and minimum guarantee arrangements”, says Mr Dogra.

The role as a franchise facilitator

Malls today play a key role in bringing interested business investors to the franchisors. A plethora of international and national retail brands consider franchise an effective vehicle for expansion. Mr Dogra reflects, “Approximately 30 per cent of tenant mix is franchise driven.  Yes, we have played a mediator in several franchise transactions especially in cases where the brand was a first time entrant in the Chennai market. In most cases the investors taking up franchises are already franchisees for other brands and hence understand the business of organised retail.”

The response

South India saw the onset of modern retail in India. What is the response of the people of Chennai towards Express Avenue? To this Mr Dogra replies, “Despite being pioneers, Chennaites have taken a back seat when it comes to marketing their own achievements, whether it was being home to ‘the first shopping mall’ of India or the first organised supermarket chain of India. Express Avenue is a new direction in Chennai’s retail scenario, and it is successfully generating overwhelming response amongst the people of Chennai. The socio-economic scenario in Chennai is destined to change with the arrival of Express Avenue. There would be eight to ten thousand new jobs created on account of Express Avenue. Also Mount Road, which was losing its sheen, would get a fresh lease of life.”

Promotions and marketing

“We are planning an unprecedented gala opening not seen in the mall scenario in India, and have engaged the services of a top notch events management company to have events all round the year to attract footfalls”, informs Mr Dogra.

Like any other world-class malls, Express Avenue has the amenities that ensure comfort and shopping pleasure of the visitors. The visitors can have unfettered movement around the mall by means of travelators, escalators and elevators. Facilities for the physically challenged, environment friendly features such as natural lighting, water treatment facilities, recycling facilities and low emitting materials are used in the construction.

Safety and security

Describing the safety measures that Express Avenue has deployed, Mr Dogra says, “We understand the need for safety and security, and hence have used state-of-the-art equipments and trained manpower to ensure that the shopping experience is wholesome without any hitches. We have a three tiered security system and have used motion sensors, metal detectors, fire alarms, smoke detectors and close circuit televisions amongst other tools to ensure complete safety and security for the patrons. We would be using the services of specialised agencies to enhance our in-house capabilities.”

Malls vs high street

The development of malls has given rise to the debate what is actually the benefactor of retail - malls or high streets? It’s a well known fact that till date high streets generate more revenues for the retailers than malls. But, as Mr Dogra explains, “High streets can never replicate the experience that a shopping mall provides and vice-versa. As far as revenues are concerned, shopping malls in India are relatively a current happening and hence the customers were not used to them. As the acceptability level amongst the end customers increases, the difference in revenue generation would also minimise. Although I am of the firm belief that both high streets and shopping malls would co-exist in the long run, as they have in the western part of the world.     

The grand scale and multi-dimension of Express Avenue project has engulfed the entire commitment of Express Infrastructure. Admits Mr Dogra, “We are currently concentrating our efforts in making the current project the most successful project in the entire country.” So, it’s all for Express Avenue for the time being.