“Malls cannot operate in Udaipur. There is no such culture in the city. People of Udaipur will not go to malls.” These were some of the comments I got from the people of Udaipur, a few months ago. I took those comments with a pinch of salt. And when I
visited McDonald’s Udaipur, for the first time, in January, I was pleased to see what Celebration Mall was going to be.
Earlier today, When i heard about the official launch of Celebration Mall, I was more than happy. The first mall in the City of Lakes, is scheduled for a soft launch on Saturday, 2nd July, 2011. Not only it features the only McDonald’s store in Udaipur, it also features the city’s first multiplex, PVR, Easyday Market hypermarket (Bharti – Walmart), Food Celebrations food court, Reliance Trends department store, Crossword, Dominos Pizza and many more.
Yeh mall chalega hi nahi, Daudega.
The Celebration Mall, developed by a joint venture of CapitaMalls Asia Limited and Advance India Projects Limited (AIPL) is a Claim to Fame for Udaipur. With around 390,000 sq ft of super built-up area across seven floors, the mall will have 144 retail
units which will include fine dining restaurants, cafes, and department stores. There will be 302 parking spaces over two basement levels. The mall has been designed by the architects Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri from Panika of ‘The Oberoi Udaivilas’ fame.
On the 2nd of July, there will be dance performances by Gaurav Bajpai and Bhakti Dabolkar. Additionally, there will be performances by International Samba, R & B and Spanish dancers. On the 3rd of July, shoppers will be dazzled by Belly Dancers from Russia along with a few Bollywood numbers followed by the Grand performance of the Indian Idol season 2 winner – Sandeep Acharya who will enthrall the crowd with his tunes.
We have some very encouraging comments regarding the growth prospects of the mall and Udaipur from the key people associated with Celebration Mall.
Mr. Kevin Chee, Country Head, India, CapitaMalls Asia, said,
“CapitaMalls Asia is pleased to have signed a strong line up of key anchor tenants for The Celebration Mall, Udaipur and we are on track for a soft launch on 2 July 2011. Other than the anchors, we have also signed on a good number of branded apparel retailers and restaurants, and expect a stronger take-up for the other units in the mall. Reliance Trends, McDonald’s and Hungama Game Zone have opened and are performing well, and we look forward to PVR opening. Easyday Market hypermarket and Food Celebrations foodcourt are expected to join us in the near future as our partners in redefining the retail experience for the city’s shoppers. CapitaMalls Asia is committed to growing our presence in India. The Celebration Mall, Udaipur is our first mall in India and our first project with AIPL. With the highest per capita income in Rajasthan, the provisional data released from Census 2011 mentions the population of Udaipur district is about 3 million. As the first shopping mall in the city, The Celebration Mall, Udaipur will help meet the under-served retail aspirations and needs of the city’s residents and tourists. CapitaMalls Asia will leverage on our experience in developing and managing 93 shopping malls in Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan and India to deliver a retail and lifestyle destination that will resonate with them.”
Mr. Sanjay Sachdeva, President – Corporate Strategy & Business Development, AIPL, said,
“In collaboration with CapitaMalls Asia, AIPL is delighted to welcome these key tenants for The Celebration Mall, Udaipur. These retailers are demanding clients who follow a stringent set of criteria for site selection and are very quality conscious. Their decision to work with The Celebration Mall, Udaipur is a fantastic endorsement of the project. We are confident that with the presence of these operators and other leading brands, The Celebration Mall, Udaipur will become the shopping destination of the city.”
Mr. Andrew Levermore, COO, Bharti Retail, said,
“We believe our location in The Celebration Mall, Udaipur is perfect for us to offer the city, which exhibits the true values and culture of Mewar and its people, the Easyday Market store efficient and wholesome shopping experience. We are committed to bringing our standards of excellence to the residents of Udaipur. The Easyday Market store in The Celebration Mall, Udaipur will become a one-stop store for customers by offering consistent lowest prices across a wide assortment of quality products like apparel, food, personal care, electronics, home products among others. Shopping at Easyday Market will enable the people of Udaipur to live better by saving money.”
Mr. Arun Sirdeshmukh, CEO, Reliance Trends, said,
“Reliance Trends, India’s leading apparel retailer, is indeed excited to offer fashion at great value to the beautiful city of Udaipur. We are proud to be associated with CapitaMalls Asia and AIPL who have developed The Celebration Mall, Udaipur – the city’s first mall and an answer to our requirements. Reliance Trends, ranked India’s No. 1 department store, has 35 stores across 26 cities of India and eagerly looks forward to catering to people of Udaipur as their first fashion choice.”
Mr. Vardhman Kothari, Partner, Hungama Game Zone, said,
“We have always prided ourselves on being the ‘fun’ destination for people seeking entertainment with their family and friends. Being part of The Celebration Mall, Udaipur, is in keeping with Hungama Entertainment’s aim of providing maximum satisfaction to the residents of Udaipur by providing them world class high-tech gaming experience with the latest games, excellent contests, varied entertainment options and more. It is our opinion that the developers CapitaMalls Asia and AIPL have indeed created a benchmark of quality for the city with The Celebration Mall, Udaipur, and we look forward to enthralling our customers and have them visit us at the mall over and over again.”
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Ltd., said,
“We are extremely delighted to bring forth the first-ever multiplex to Udaipur. Our decision to launch our cinema here has been strongly influenced by the romance of Udaipur and we believe that bringing the finest movie viewing experience here will add to the enchanting aura of this city. We are certain that the movie lovers in the city and around would appreciate the new-age cinema experience that we will provide in the first organised mall in Udaipur. The Celebration Mall, Udaipur has provided us with the perfect setting to create the unique PVR experience in the city.”
Mr. Vikram Bakshi, Managing Director, McDonald’s India (North & East), said,
“We have been looking to enter Udaipur for quite some time but haven’t been able to for lack of quality real estate that could fulfill our requirements. The Celebration Mall, Udaipur met all our requirements and presented us with a great opportunity to serve the food lovers of the city. It has solid potential to become the foremost retail destination of the city and its strategic location in city suburbs is clearly advantageous for us.”
Mr. Amit Prakash, Director, UN Foods Pvt. Ltd., the operator of the Food Celebrations foodcourt, said,
“We have always wanted to cater to the residents of Udaipur, who wish for a more sophisticated, yet integrated shopping and dining experience in a comfortable environment. The Celebration Mall, Udaipur will deliver that experience, and we are pleased to offer our Food Celebrations foodcourt at the mall to provide greater dining choices for shoppers. We believe this mall is the long-awaited iconic property that will modernise the retail scene in Udaipur, bringing it on par with the rest of the country.”
