Ahmedabad retail buyers prefer branded over value products

In what could hint at bulging pockets for retail buyers in Ahmedabad, retailers are finding a shift in preferences towards branded products over discounted value merchandise. While some believe it is due to rise in purchasing power of consumers in the city, others find global exposure to be playing a catalyst here.

For instance, one of the largest malls in Gujarat, Iscon Mega Mall has a rise in footfalls at branded stores in its premises as compared to value ones. "Despite of the economic situation in the country, purchasing power of retail buyers in Ahmedabad has increased. This is visible from the fact that there has been a considerable shift in product preferences at our mall. Retail buyers have gradually moved from value products to branded ones," said Amit Gupta, executive director, JP Iscon Ltd.

According to Gupta, this has also resulted in more number of mid and high premium brands setting up shops at Iscon Mega Mall. What's more, even the recently launched AlphaOne mall in the Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad found similar trend in one of its internal research.

"The mindset is changing among retail buyers in Ahmedabad towards premium branded products. This is due to a rise in their global exposure," said Prodipta Sen, Executive Director, Alpha G:Corp, the developer of the AlphaOne mall. In fact, as per an internal research conducted by the real estate developer for Ahmedabad, it found that rather than looking at just value in terms of price, retail consumers in the city were looking at quality and appeal.

As a result, consumers at the newly launched KFC quick service restaurant (QSR) at AlphaOne are learnt to be witnessing a 45 minutes waiting period, a rarity among KFC outlets in other cities.

Meanwhile, cashing in on these changing preferences, JP Iscon Ltd. has tied up with entertainment giant Disney for the Christmas season - the latter's first such tie-up in Gujarat. As part of its collaboration with Disney, Iscon Mega Mall will be hosting contests, games and other entertainment activities, including a chance for lucky shoppers to visit Hong Kong Disneyland during Christmas. "While usually we have a footfall of 60,000 on Sundays, 25,000 on Saturdays and 12,000-14,000 on weekdays, due to our tie-up with Disney, we expect the same to increase by 15 per cent," Gupta added.