Mall mania is catching up a frenetic pace throughout India. Developers, retailers, and service providers are working towards providing the ultimate shopping experience to consumers, luring them into shopping centres not just by offering fantastic products, but also by the promise of services and experiences par excellence. And its not just Tier I which is mall-savvy. Shopping malls have found a ready audience in Tier II cities and towns and are rapidly expanding in these non-metro areas as well.
One such mall, which is redefining retail in the state of Jharkhand is Ranchi’s JD Hi Street Mall.
Key Highlights
If viewed from a topographical point, the entire main road of Ranchi caters to over a million sq. ft. in area to shopping complexes and located right at the heart of this main road is JD Hi Street, enjoying the advantage of this great location.
“Being a vertical mall, JD Hi Street spans across almost 1,10,000 sq. ft. and hosts a floor plate of 8,500 sq. ft. It is considered as the first ever shopping mall in capital, and has given birth to a cultural import in terms of marketing and customer experience,” says Shantanu Lahiri, Chief Advisor, JD Hi Street Mall.
While other shopping complexes existed before this, JD Hi Street is widely thought to have introduced a shopping mall which appealed to the Millennial population. The credit for the concept of the mall – which focuses on experiential retail and consumer satisfaction – is attributed to Anurag Sarawgi, Director of JD Hi Street.
Established in 2011, the mall is host to a number of ‘first-time’ brands in Ranchi and prides itself on being a community hub – a place where people can hangout, enjoy various entertainment and dining experiences as well as shop. Brands like Carnival Cinemas and Reliance have entered the city through JD Hi Street. In fact, Reliance has received many awards for generating the highest sales across eastern India through this mall.
“Most brands in our mall have been very happy with the way and the disposition inwhich we have been operating. Our tenants are like our extended family and our patrons have received all stores very well, making us a legacy over time,” says Lahiri.
Based on research, JD Hi Street accounts for the highest ‘SPH’ – spending per head – not only in Ranchi but also in Jharkhand andmany other regions of the eastern belt.
Zoning
The ground floor houses anchor stores, while the first, second and third floors cater to established brands including Red Tape, Arrow, Wrangler, Lee, Pepe Jeans, Fastrack.
The fourth floor has FEC, including the only Amoeba outlet in the city. The fifth floor houses the food court including QSRs and fine dine restaurants. The last two floors has is manned by Carnival Cinemas.
Marketing & Promotion
From a mall perspective, JD Hi Street does not believe in a lot of hard-core marketing and mostly brands do their own promotions.
While the mall does standard digital sponsorship wherein brands and retailers are given Facebook promotions, mentions on the mall’s Twitter account as well as featured on the mall’s website, the only time the mall actively partakes in promotional activities is ifit has an upcoming event. For now, the mall is letting individual brands be the flag bearers of Omnichannel and Phy-gital retail
“We conduct cultural events and recreational activities for special occasions like Friendship Day, Independence Day, Republic Day etc. Aside from this, various competitions and laughter shows are held every now and then. We also conducted a ‘Grand Shopping Festival’ which was like a flea market,” says Lahiri.
“During events we generate larger footfalls and our impulse purchase increases by 25 to 30 percent,” he concludes.
