From the unkempt friendly Kirana of the neighbourhood to the glitzy impersonal Mega Malls, Indian retail has come a long way. More than transition, it’s an evolution of a market which until recently was considered sluggish, not lucrative and un-innovative. However, unorganized retail still comprises nearly 96 percent of the market share and exists parallel at the same time. The “aspiration” aspect puts up a strong justification to the rising “Mallification” and organized retail business amidst heated debate and protests.
Footfall in the Malls is also on increase. As far as its popularity among a certain sections of urban populace is concerned, it can be assessed from the fact that Malls as an average count approximately 30-35 thousand footfalls on a normal shopping day. If we just look at the space Malls have occupied in the country in the last five years, we will find the figure amazing.
From a modest two million square feet in 2002, it has become over 21 million in the last 4-5 years and rising with more players entering and more infrastructure developing. No doubt, infrastructure and business friendly policies of the government have played a major role. In this single sector, there is tremendous parallel business opportunity for many other sectors; real estate, infrastructure, logistics, supply chain management, service sector, architecture, design and so on. The biggest benefit of the organized retail is that it eliminates the middleman helping thereby the buyer and the seller. Organized retail has no doubt improved the shopping experience with better design interface, safety and convenience. Its appeal to the urban population is almost instant. We can’t ignore these and some other apparent advantages.
Besides the potential of growth which it offers to the service economy there’re deep apprehensions about its social sustainability. What will happen to the small time retailers, vendors and millions of hawkers who make their living selling fruits-vegetables, grocery, confectionary, toys, utensils, hosiery-undergarments, hardware and so on? Will it create as many jobs as it will take away? Can there be a design solution, not just in terms of physical embodiment but at the level of design system thinking? Can we design a new system which may help circumvent social tension, protect the interest of those who feel threatened and organize the unorganized retail by creating a parallel system which is equally vibrant and viable?
Mihir Bholey is Associate Senior Faculty teaching in the area of Interdisciplinary Design Studies at National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad (INDIA). He Heads the Communication & Media Relations of NID and is the Vice Chairman of Knowledge Management & Information Services.
