Kolkata’s first shopping mall Forum has got an extension. Christened as Forum Courtyard, the 42,000 sq.ft extension, spread across three levels, houses Mango, Aldo, Charles & Keith, Mother Care, Anita Dongre, Sisley, Sunglass Hut, Da Milano, Boggi, Alcott, Inglot, Tie Rack, The Body Shop, Rolex, Puma and Black Label Samsonite brands.
Designed as a posh boutique, the extension features classy interiors with sober yet stunning lighting arrangements that create a perfect ambience for international brands.
"With Forum Courtyard, we are looking at various learning curves that we experienced all these years while operating Forum. In fact, we have done quite a few innovations to reinvent, redefine and rejuvenate Forum’s tenant mix," says Rahul Saraf, MD, Forum Projects. The Group had revolutionised retail in eastern India with the launch of Forum.
Forum Courtyard also has an eight-level car parking space that can accommodate 450 cars. Also, adhering to the Group’s eco-friendly policies, the new extension has been designed to make optimum use of energy. And, to track every purchase on real time basis, the company has introduced the latest ‘proprietary revenue share backbone’ system in Forum Courtyard.
Significantly, with the launch of Forum Courtyard, Forum Projects has rolled out its pilot retail store, ‘Trezo’, to provide a platform to young, talented pret designers.
"We are looking at creating a perfect synergy between the mall developer and the retailer. As we believe mall developers need to understand the retail business like a retailer, we decided to have hands-on experience in retail. Trezo is a retail concept through which we would like to understand the retail business like a retailer," says Saraf.
Catering to the city’s increasing demand for designer pret wear, Trezo has introduced the ‘racks on rent’ concept, wherein individual racks will be offered to designers on rentals.
To make it a one-stop-shop for affordable style, the price has been kept between Rs.2,000 and Rs.15,000. The 1,700 sq.ft store will be entirely run and managed by the Group’s in-house team.
In its attempt to expand its retail vertical, Forum Projects has also rolled out its franchsiee retail stores at Forum Courtyard. The franchisee stores for Puma, Cotton World and Tie Rack are spread over 1,200, 1,500 and 400 sq.ft carpet area, respectively. "We are just testing the waters," adds Saraf.
With the opening of Forum Courtyard, the mall now offers a sprawling 2.5 lakh sq.ft of shopping space at the prime location of Elgin Road in Kolkata.
– Piasi Sinha
