Rise of the Phoenix

October 22, 2016

Phoenix Market City is considered one of the most popular shopping destinations in Pune. With nearly 300 national and international brands, the mall plans on continually upgrading with new brands even before your recent purchase goes out of style. With popular brands such as H&M, GAP and Aeropostale setting up shop in the city last week, there is a lot more promising coming up for Puneites.

Says Rajiv Malla, Centre Director of Phoenix Market City Pune: “There are a lot more brands coming in the near future, we cannot divulge into further details but there’s a lot more in store for the people of Pune. We will have brands that will set foot for the first time in the city.” The perception that Pune is seen as Mumbai’s poor cousin may not entirely be true. According to Malla, “It took us almost a year to get H&M to Pune. Big brands usually prefer opening first in bigger metropolitan cities and depending on their success decide to open in smaller ones. But, we are trying to change that bring big international brands to Pune as well.

Malls are no more just an enclosed space catering as a shopper’s paradise or for a food lover. There are malls opening in Dubai and Thailand that have large areas being occupied by an aquarium or language schools. It is almost a global phenomenon that malls are becoming multipurpose. Malla adds, “We have been trying to upgrade the mall and almost 40 percent is complete. We are dedicating 40,000 square feet plus space for F&B, we will have Social and Copper Chimney and the likes. Also, 20,000 square feet of space will be added for a gaming arena.” To accommodate the crowd that will get pulled in with these additional facilities, Phoenix Market City will increase their parking slots as well. The evolving of malls is a continuous process; Phoenix has incorporated Liberty Square wherein various events ranging from music concerts to sports take place. “We have LED screens put at the Liberty Sqaure in order to cater to a larger audience. In fact, this weekend Shaggy will be performing right here. We also have Al Fresco restaurants for people to enjoy their dining experience,” says Malla.

One would think that with online shopping becoming a rage, malls would need to keep innovating in order to sustain. According to Malla he doesn’t think that plays such an important factor, “I have asked a lot of people whether they would buy their shirts, trousers or shoes online and most of them tell me they wouldn’t and well there you have your answer. Online shopping has been trending for a long time in America but malls still do exist, don’t they? Maybe for commodities like electronics or mobile phones it is preferred but people still want to touch and try clothes and footwear.”