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We are like this only

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by Swatee Jog

Every city has its own idiosyncrasies. Belagavi has many! We are actually one of India’s oldest Metros, clubbed as we are amidst three disparate states, each with an identity of its own, influencing and creating a unique fabric called Belagavi culture.

We have absorbed the best of the three while safeguarding and continuously shaping our unique identity. The way we shop also has a lot to do with our demographics and peculiar cultural amalgamation. Just a few years ago, Belagavi looked famished on the shopping map of the country, with no mega store in sight, but even then (and even now) Belagavi has been the favorite shopping destination for the Goans who throng the city on the weekends.

News of the first Big Bazaar created such exhilaration, that it had usurped the crime stories from everyday gossip. When you have a whole tier-2 city like Belagavi with around half a million people waiting with bated breath for over a year for its first glimpse of the superstore magic to unravel, such things were bound to happen. So when the Big Bazaar actually opened ahead of schedule in September, no one could contain the excitement.

bigb1It was amusing how a store could generate so much anticipation and the resurging ballyhoo brought out the ‘are you crazy or what’ look from saner people. Around the same time, the city had been witnessing a drastic change in its retail scenario. Mega standalone stores (like Harsha, Pai, Adishwar, Khadim’s, Reebok, Megamart, Hazare Kitchenware, etc.) hawking electronics, footwear, garments and kitchenware had popped up and the footfalls they enjoyed had more than satisfied the owners.

Every huckster worth his last unsold lot had come up with ‘mega’ schemes and cut off margins for the first time ever.(Many even calculated how much the owners earned all these years and even thanked the arrival of the big stores for setting a new trend of cheaper alternatives. ) 

There were quite a few shopaholics who turned to Kolhapur or Sangli when Big Bazaar/Dmart opened there, who helped spread the magic of an unseen world, full of discounts, gifts and choices aplenty. But talk of the neighborhood kirana store becoming defunct was virtually absent thanks to customer apprehensions regarding these stores being difficult to access for middle classes.

 

nucleusmall
The frenzy that Belagavi saw when the first megastore opened here was unparalleled. Had I managed to bring out Sam Walton for those few hours, he would have grinned his way back to his grave. More than looking around for the goods on display, most of the people were content in hitching a ride on the escalator ( the delirium was such on the lone escalator that quite a few ladies actually tumbled and tripped backwards and many were seen hesitating with one foot in the air , frightened to put it on the first step!…..Yes, I was there on the first day!), plucking their infants and toddlers from the ground and perching them atop the trolley and just lounging around in a fully air conditioned area. Families frequently found themselves scampering after their kids’ names were announced on the PA system, who just wandered along and lost track.

These traits were bound to reflect in response to a different shopping experience. A quick look at the baskets of the shoppers reveals a very peculiar buying pattern. Most of the carts are almost empty with packets of chips, noodles, soaps, scrubbers and some lentils barely occupying bottom space. Some try out the clothes section, some even venturing into the furniture and gadgets section, but the real show stopper is the kids’ section and the one that housed perfumes and gift articles. The trend of buying cosmetics and goods with clear and undisputable MRPs and leaving the consumer durables for the more friendly smaller stores where you know the owner most of the times, is a clear indicator of the consumer psyche of the people of Belagavi. There is a clear thought pattern behind the buying habits of the people of Belagavi and it shows in more places than merely the megastores. Though their hearts are big enough to survive a half-century tug-of-war between two states, their spending seems to be yet conservative, with only a few nouveau rich actually going the whole hog and splurging for the heck of it!

But more of it in the next episode!

 

0 thoughts on “We are like this only”

  1. While the entry of Big Bazaar and others of this variety does add positives to the retailing experience of any town it contributes to the mediocrity and sameness of the new India. It drives out the uniqueness of cities like Belgaum. It also kills entrepreunership at the local level by bringing in these big gorillas and their pricing power. I would rather pay a little more and support the inefficiency of the smaller stores that have characterized India for the past two thousand years than allow this invasion of Big Bazaars to destroy the fabric of our society. I would rather my children become their own business person rather than dispensing coffee at Big Bazaar or the Nucleus Mall.

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    • I am trying to understand the consumer psyche of the people of Belgaum, who have the spending power but are conservative spenders, while tangentially glacing on the changing shopping scenario here!

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  2. I Believe this conservative spending is soon going to change, this happened in the big cities like MUM-PUN-BLR as well few years ago. Apart from this ONE big bazaar & Nucleus, there have been so many branded stores on Dist Hospital Road and ppl do spend there. I have seen ppl buying at Reliance clothes during offseason. I will take some time, but the market will boooooommmm with more Malls, INOX, PVR's etc….

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    • Please watch "Super size Me" documentary if you think we need all the fast food (or should I call "Fat-Food') chains as you've mentioned. Please be considerate of the coming next generations!!!

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      • Its not mandatory to visit them daily na…You can go whenever you need change…Also these are required for belgaum to make sure its not lagging in any department comapred to metros…

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  3. I would still buy from road side vendor in ganpat galli, maruti galli or market. its actually fun to bargain and get to know seller personally, spend some time talking with them and your buying experience will be something to remember. Next time you visit same vendor and they will immediately recoganize you. give you warm welcome

    In BB or other retails all you do is pickup trolly take packed items as it is dont know if it is fresh or day older as they are kept in freezers or cold storage. just billit (no bargain nothing for name sake they will give discount or give reward point for which again you need to buy something to redeem them) and leave not really a good shopping experience.

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  4. not really on topic but i have never seen the escalators actually in use in the belgaum big bazaar. i dont remember feeling AC in their either on my many visits. is there another big bazaar in belgaum that i was unaware of? =)

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  5. Hello Swatee, I enjoyed reading this article. Belgaumites are looking forward to the overall development of city and want MNC’s setting up shops here. For long term, is this a good idea? In developed world, citizens are promoting local businesses, because it is the idea of going green. Imagine, supply chain stores will generate so much unwanted waste, which will eventually go to landfills around the city, polluting agricultural lands. This is just tip of iceberg. I remember my days in the 80’s, there were paper bags around, now it’s completely changed. All that glitz and glamor brought by chain stores will be short lived. Be local, buy local is the key to a model green city. Don’t put your local vada paav vendor out of business for Burger King.
    My 2 cents.

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  6. I don’t know…I’m not here for “for and against”…but the admin or whoever edited this post has an English literature written all over… Said that, I appreciate u for doing such commendable at editing about Belgaum…Keep it up whomsoever it concerns….

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  7. I doubt if such shopping zones are really needed for BGM.. whenever I gave visit to BB the service seems to be very poor.. there will not be even single person available to answer our queries and yeah most importantly I observed in my last 2 visits that it appears people visting BB has gradually gone down.. but since 20 yrs I see maruti galli ganapati galli the crowd is as huge as it used to be..
    We can buy anything from our local shops for a reasonable price which appears little costly in BB..

    Reply

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