Talks on small malls

Ashiana Group has lately turned its focus on mall development, but wants to keep it a low-key affair, where extravaganza is replaced by pleasure and satisfaction. Vishal Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Ashiana Group, speaks on this.

Retailer: Tell us about the business background of the company? 

Vishal Gupta (VG): Mr Om Gupta, together with Mr RK Modi, his class mate at BITS - Pilani, launched Ashiana Housing India in 1979. The group became a listed company in 1991. Till date the company has developed 6000 dewelling units and has a plan to develop another 6000 dewelling units in another 5 years. Recently we have taken up some mall development projects too.

Retailer: What retail and hospitality projects are you involved in?

VG: The mall in Bhiwadi will be ready in a month’s time. It is of 1 lakh sq ft., wherein 45000 sq ft is for retail space and the remaining part is dedicated for a 50-room hotel. Apart from this, the construction work is going on in Jamshedpur, Jodhpur and Jaipur where the residential projects will be supplemented with these types of malls.

Retailer: What factors led to the selection of locations like Bhiwadi, Jodhpur and Jamshedpur for setting up malls? 

VG: Land price is the key factor for selecting locations. We always target small cities which provide a first-mover’s advantages and where there are un-serviced demands, the demands which are yet to be serviced. We are the first to step in Bhiwadi in 1993 where almost 1000 industries are located. Nimrana is one such location where you can find such un-serviced demands. There are about 3500 residents in the vicinity of 2 km in Bhiwadi. Our malls will cater them.

Retailer: How do you like to position the malls developed by Ashiana?

VG: We consider malls as the support system for the new townships that we are building in tier II and tier III cities. These malls house mostly local brands. We do house international brands, but that should be of factory outlet format. The reason is pulling the local customers who will not shy away for high price tickets. We are facilitating the meeting between interested business investors and reputed brands for franchise deals. We want to create a controlled retail environment where shopping pleasure will not be loaded with lavishness. To lower the common cost, the malls are not centrally air-conditioned; it is up to individual store’s choice to maintain and bear the cost of AC. We have used high quality glazing glasses that reflect heat to ensure inside coolness. In Jamshedpur, we plan to create open-air retail zone of 80, 000 sq ft, something in the line of high-street retail environment.

Retailer: What facilities and amenities are you providing in these malls? Do you have plans to organise special events to attract customers to your mall?  Will you organise flea market?

VG: Like any other malls we too provide basic amenities. We impart security training on a par with standard malls, and has plans to organise events like sit & draw, fashion show and arts & crafts competitions to generate customers’ interest.