This post is triggered by a comment made by my friend on our recent visit to Aminbad Market, he wondered "Can Big Bazaar replace this market ever?". Now for the benefit of people who are not from Lucknow , Aminbad market is that typical market which is present in most of the small and bigger cities in the country(though size might vary), whether it is the Shivaji Nagar Market in Bangalore, or the market surrounding the Kalupur market in Ahmedabad. These are the typical markets which are full of vendors who are there to sell anything from a comb to watches to crockery......
And these vendors are mostly the small vendors on the roadside, with all the material which they sell on the a rented gadi or thela and some make use of a small loudspeaker to attract customers. And these markets have a reputation to be the one where you could get the best price if one knew how to bargain.
My friend made the comment a couple of days back , and we just casually discussed it, but then when i again went back to the market i decided to take some time off and spent a couple of hours in the market pondering over the question. Though I am firmly in the favor of the entry of organized retail in the country, the first thought which came to me was the one which has many people worried (though i doubt the genuineness of most of them) was the employment such markets are able to generate. Second thought was what it would mean culturally to loose out such a vibrant and lively market with a life less organized retail store which in a way is unique and ingrained in the way we are and we shop....
But at the end of two hours followed by a visit to few of the organized retailers in the city I was convinced that it would be very difficult if not impossible for organized retail to dislodge the unorganized small retailer from the retail scene in the country , because more than the issues of economies of scale and efficiency, for us bazaar buying is a part of our culture and though we might like to go to the shopping malls once in a while we would continue to patronize markets like Aminabad for a long time to come, and by "we" I mean the majority of Indians...
It's true that we are used to the local markets and the bargaining system still holds.. But as retail gets more organized, is it possible for us to see more price reductions to the tune of Walart etc. that may actually pull consumers to them?
ReplyDeleteCheaper goods, I feel, are more attractive than having to bargain for them as in the local markets...
Hi Rajesh Sir. How are you?
ReplyDeleteBazaar culture is here to stay, sheer abundance and glitter of malls is sometimes intimidating, to the extent that consumers doubt if they would be able to get a good bargain.....
Don't really agree with varun's point above, low prices may initially result in high footfalls but in long run, we can never be sure in India. Bargain, in my opinion is different in Indian context, it is better quality at cheaper prices, walmart's case of every time low prices (a good bargain), has its repercussions in terms of deterioration in quality of several products over the years. Such policy, if any, in India is bound to fail. [for details read The Walamart Effect by Charles Fishman]
Nitin,
ReplyDeleteI meant to sayat bargaining is not everyone's forte.. the so-called modern fellas are better at seeing the price and deciding if it's cheap enough or not.. I also love the smaller markets, but I feel that when the issues of hygiene and bargaining power comes, retail chains are better off. In US, smaller chains are lesser in number and ppl have a better choice in WalMart (which I agree is a bit low on quality, having personally experienced it) but I ndial retailers will have to fight with these local fellas and so I feel they will not go downn quality...
They will co-exist... People, afterall, have their own choices...
Hey there,
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