Friday, February 02, 2007

Rural malls are taking off

The concept of rural malls is picking up and retailers are all rushing to set up stores in rural areas. Consumers in rural areas spend an estimated Rs 8 lakh* crore each year. In some areas, there is no electricity or drinking water, but villagers are tracking commodity indexes via the ATM. Companies such as DCM Shriram Group are setting up 50 rural retail outlets called Hariyali Kissan Bazaars seeing this vibrant demand.

ITC has set up 12 Choupal Sagars in three states and Reliance is also making plans to enter the sector. Hariyali Kissan Bazaar’s have 400 walk-ins a day, with a 70-80% repeat visitors and generate Rs 14 crore annually. While most products are farm related, soon stores will add construction items, automotive and telecom products due to demand from local customers.

*1 lakh = 100,000
1 crore= 100 lakhs

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