The Indian economy is becoming more and more consumer-oriented. You could even call it a consumer-oriented face lift[FACE LIFT MEANS ONLY SKIN DEEP, SO IS THAT ALL THAT IS HAPPENING OR IS THERE ALSO A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE]. Small provisional stores are being overtaken by the air-conditioned, posh malls. More and more people [ITS MORE AND MORE RICH PEOPLE NOT THE MAJORITY WHICH IS MIDDLE CLASS AND POOR] prefer the more[TO MANY MORE-S THIS ONE IS REDUNDANT] "consumer-friendly" environment of the malls – with areas for sitting and dining – to the regular vegetable market or retail store.
Rajkot is also not far behind. With the likes of the already built Iscon Mall and upcoming malls like Crystal and Iscon [MEGA] Mall, the changes in the consumption pattern of the average Rajkotian consumer is [IT ALREADY HAS SO USE HAS] become more apparent.
Sagar Vyas, a student, says, "Malls are a nice place to hang out for youngsters. You get all the things you want at one place – whether it be food, toys or groceries [STUDENT AND GROCERIES?] – and at outlets like Big Bazaar you can avail of special offers and schemes." When asked about the mall culture in Rajkot specifically, he says, "I do not feel that Rajkot is ready for the newly-evolving mall culture. A city has to first develop its lifestyle before developing infrastructure and moving on to consumer concepts like malls [THIS IS SHITTY, THE MARKET SHAPES THE LIFESTYLE, YOU CAN NOT HAVE MALL CULTURE WITHOUT MALLS, DANCING YOUNGSTERS WITHOUT DISCO-THEQUES, SO FIRST WE NEED INFRASTRUCTURE]. The people of Rajkot cannot maintain cleanliness and hygiene – with all the spitting and the garbage – and this ruins any building mall culture [AGAIN SHIITY, PEOPLE DO NOT SPIT IN MALLS, THEY DO NOT SPIT IN POSH SHOWROOMS]. Also, the malls do not have provisions for adequate parking space [THEY DO HAVE OTHERWISE THE BUILDING PLAN WILL NOT GET PASSED BY THE RMC, AND WITHOUT THAT THEY CANT EVEN LAY ONE BRICK OF THE MALL], which creates a lot of problems like traffic, etc. The more malls that come up, the more problematic areas. [BE CLEAR, PROBLEMATIC AREAS FOR?]"
[ABSOLUTELY BASELESS ARGUMENTS PUT FORWARD BUY THIS JOKER]
G.M. Jhala [GIVE ME HIS AGE, PROFESSION, PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH HE MAKES THIS COMMENT] opines, "Rajkot culture is ready for change. Everything is being modernized – and so is the retail market. I believe that malls will become an integral part of [city and - IS REDUNDANT] city life within five years at the most. Youngsters like going to malls." On being asked as to whether he prefers malls he says, "It's great to have so many brands and retail outlets under one roof – something like a shopping arena. I prefer purchasing from malls because we get more variety and the quality is also regulated. [YOU NEED TO INTERCHANGE THESE TWO SENTENCES, THE SECOND GOES FIRST AND FIRST ONE AFTERWARDS] The mall culture could be improved if they were closer to the locality [THEY ARE CLOSE TO SOME LOCALITY, JUST NOT HIS. AND HOW DOES A MALL NEAR HIS LOCALITY HAVE A BETTER MALL CULTURE?]. Most are situated quite far-off."
A resident of Rajkot, Bhavna Govani [GIVE ME HER AGE, ROLE - IDENTITY] has a different opinion, "I prefer purchasing merchandise from the smaller shops. They are closer to home and far more convenient. One can go to the mall once in a while when the need for the commodity is not urgent. Window-shopping and looking at new products is the main reason for going to a mall. I still prefer grocery stores though, as there is a [more - IS REDUNDANT] personal relationship with the shop-owner. In a mall, one loses identity." [I TELL YOU THIS LADY IS THE ONLY ONE WITH SANE, LOGICAL ARGUMENTS. I LIKE HER CLEAR STRUCTURED THINKING]
With a smattering of European brands like Levi's, Adidas, and Nike [SURE ALL ARE EUROPEAN? , SO ASIAN - SONY, PANASONIC AND NORTH AMERICAN BRANDS ARE NOT POPULAR], malls have changed the face of purchasing any commodity [THIS IS WRONG. CHANGE THE FACE OF PURCHASING? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?]. Prominent brands of apparel, watches, footwear, FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods), and restaurants are all available at the same place. The BOF – the Brand Owners Forum – had passed a decision in 2005 to open around 300-something malls around the country. The BOF includes companies like Café Coffee Day, Levi Strauss and Titan. The building of a mall is a serious thing – a massive investment is required because a mall should have about 200,000 sq. feet of space to ensure enough parking area and free movement of people living near the mall. There are a variety of reasons as to why people are flocking to malls – with the air-condition turned up, the wide array of merchandise available, attractive schemes, the "family entertainment" quotient, increased standard of living [THIS IS THE ONLY NEW POINT IN THE WHOLE SENTENCE], and the convenience of shopping all attract customers of all ages to malls.
[I LIKE THE BOF INFORMATION THAT YOU PUT IN, GIVES THE ARTICLE A PROFESSIONAL TOUCH]
There are several economic implications about this changing trend. One, with the higher demand for land in high-profile areas like Kalawad road [, etc - DONT GET INTO THIS LAZY HABIT OF ETC UNLESS REQUIRED]. the real estate market – both residential and commercial – experiences a boom. The going rates spiral up as the demand increases. Secondly, upcoming malls generate direct or indirect employment for thousands of people. And third, and the most important of all, malls drag away valuable business from smaller shops and thus adversely affect the shop-owning class' income, forcing them to reinvent their stores or find new ways of earning. [THE LAS PART OF THE SENTENCE REEKS OF A CLEAR THINKING PATTERN - NICE ]
Well, the verdict's out – without any regard for the economic repercussions, the common Rajkotian is just "loving it" and this trend will definitely change the face of the consumer concept in Rajkot – whether it be for the better or for the worse is yet to be seen.
[THIS IS A VERY GOOD ARTICLE. THE OVERALL FEEL OF IT IS VERY SMOOTH. IT IS EASY ON THE BRAIN. IT FLOWS NICELY. IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER WITH MORE TO-THE-POINT OPEN QUESTIONS TO THE READERS AND BETTER ARGUMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES]