Watching a movie at any odd hour, grabbing a bite or even shopping at a mall won’t be a dream anymore. Thanks to the Model Shops and Establishments Act that the Government is proposing for states to replicate, establishments will be allowed to operate round the clock. Here is what mall and cinema owners think about the Act:
Director, Select CITYWALK, Yog Raj Arora
One of the factors leading to popularity of online shopping is the feasibility to shop anytime. With Model Shop and Establishments Act, now, even brick-and-mortar will get that level-playing field. Retailers are paying rental for 24 hours so it is in their interest that they have longer hours of trading. Even if 50 per cent of the retailers at Select CITYWALK agree, I think we could extend the shopping hours to 12:30 a.m. or even 2 o’clock in the first stage to experiment. Select CITYWALK, currently shuts at 11 pm, barring some restaurants that are open until 12:30 am and multiplex that operates till 2:30 am.
Executive Director, Pacific India (Pacific Mall), Abhishek Bansal
The passing of the Model Shops and Establishments Act will have a positive affect on the market, as it will lead to increase in employment opportunities. This will also enable level playing for brands across online as well as offline retail platforms. At Pacific Mall, currently shops that close by 9 pm can now remain open till about 11 pm, which will be good for customers who only get a chance to shop after they return home from work or people working late shifts. Being a premium high-end shopping and leisure destination we have invested in state of the art security management service and surveillance systems and we will have to look into hiring and training more people according to their job profiles post this change.
Executive Vice President and Head DLF, Mall of India, Pushpa Bector
The news is encouraging for both retail and service sector. The proposal to keep shops, malls and offices open 24×7 is a win win situation for retailers and the customers. It will provide much needed boost to retail sector and create a level playing field for offline and online players. From mall developer perspective, it’s a positive sign for us as it provides us with a longer window of doing business and serving our customers. We will engage the brands operational at DLF Mall of India to workout the logistics on how we can leverage this move. Having said that customer security and safety will be looked into closely before we announce the date of implementation and phases of implementation on the proposed move as providing quality experience will be of utmost importance at DLF Mall of India.
Retail Head, Entertainment City, Noida, Munish Baldev
I welcome this step of the Government as I believe that this will open window of opportunity to many. This will enable us to generate more employment for people and also will help us to address the need of our customers. Who would be willing to shop past midnight. Apart from benefiting customers, the Act will also be beneficial for us to catalyze our growth as we will be able to target customers who are busy for the whole day in their respective jobs and end up shopping online at the end. Also, this will add to our responsibility as we will have to be more diligent towards our women employees and their safety and security during their night shifts.
Chief Operating Officer, Carnival Cinemas, Saurabh Saxena
We see this move by the Government as a positive move as it is encouraging both for business and society. It will only be successful provided the Government provides proper infrastructure and ensures safety of the citizens. If implemented properly, it can bring boom in the industry.
VP Operations, Wave Cinemas, Yogesh Raizada
Theoretically it is a good concept but commercially it is not viable. It is a futuristic plan but does not fit the current scenario. We will be able to run the shows late at night provided we get 30-35 per cent occupancy otherwise it will be difficult to bear the labour cost, management cost and infrastructure cost. Plus safety and security issues should also be considered.
Model Shops and Establishments Act that the Government is proposing for states to replicate will allow establishments to operate round the clock
Must Read
