Standard’s Max, a Delhi-based department store, is all set to roll out its 27,000 sq.ft store at AlphaOne Amritsar on May 15, 2010.
Speaking exclusively to IndiaRetailing, Vinay Kumar Garg, director, Max Standard Stores Pvt Ltd, says, "We have invested approximately six crore rupees to open the store at AlphaOne Amritsar. We have signed a deal with the mall developers to open our store on a revenue-sharing basis."
Standard’s Max has already one operational store at the V3S mall, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, which has acquired 27,000 sq.ft area on pure lease rent. "The mall culture is picking up fast and our advice for other retailers would be the same that drives us to shopping malls — modern retail is one route that can help retailers grow and expand their business. Once you get ‘organised’, you can expand to any extent," says Garg.
Currently, Standard’s Max has four operational department stores in Delhi including two stores (8,000 sq.ft and 9,000 sq.ft) at Model Town, one store (40,000 sq.ft) in Pitampura and one store (27,000 sq.ft.) at the V3S mall, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi.
"All our showrooms are company owned and we are looking forward to have a franchise. Currently, we have only company-owned stores," he says.
Despite being a regional player, it also runs programmes to retain its customers. "We have Stan Club card membership for our customers to offer them various facilities and benefits. The company continuously analyses and responds to the customer database, making indicated changes that enhance the customer experience as are appropriate to each local market," he underlines.
"We are ‘glocal’, which means we serve our customers by blending global systems with local flavours. We are a system- and technology-oriented organisation with the help of which we fearlessly go ahead with all our plans and endeavours.
"We have a couple of stores coming this year and the next. Our next launch will be at Supertech Mall, Meerut this year itself, while two others are in the pipeline for next year. Standard’s Max is looking forward to go pan-India in the near future. Currently, we are in the process of finalising our deals at five other locations," shares Garg. He adds the cities they are looking forward to open five stores include Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Panchkula, Mohali, Dehradun and Raipur, while three more stores will open this calender year.
AlphaOne Amritsar recently bagged the ‘Most Admired Shopping Centre Launch of the Year – North’ award at IMAGES Shopping Centre Awards, 2010 in Mumbai. Currently, the four-floor property, AlphaOne Amritsar, has more than 170 outlets, with each floor covering over 1,20,000 sq.ft of retail space in which 75 per cent of the property is operational and 90 per cent leased out. The anchors of this mixed-use property include Shopper’s Stop, HyperCity, Reliance Trends, Fun Cinemas and Orama.
— Diwakar Kumar
