Jumbo Saver Value in Elephantine Proportions

Barely a month into functioning, the Jubilant Group feels that its Jumbo Saver format is performing as per expectations, barring a few expected hitches. Jumbo Saver has been operational since November 2006, and it already attracts some 12,000-odd footfalls on an average weekday and around 35,000 footfalls on weekends. This footfall is entirely on account of Jumbo Saver as the remaining 50 per cent of its home – Bangalore 's Gopalan Mall, including its multiplex anchor – is not yet operational.

Value retailing is the underlying proposition that runs through this fresh concept, both in terms of the functioning of the format as well as its end offering, lending it cohesion and character. Related issues such as the location of the mall and its catchment, as also the choice of brands/retailers at Jumbo Saver have been dictated by this core concept of 'value'. In fact, independent brands (such as Adidas, Benetton, Moustache, Weekender Kids, Upper Crest etc.) have opened their factory outlet formats here along with Madura Garments' discount format Brands and Bargains. At the same place we also have pure retailers like Health & Glow, Favorite Shop, Whizz, Music World etc. who operate as value retailers here.

“Our positioning is very honest in terms of the range, the pricing and the service we offer. At Jumbo Saver we're trying to establish a critical retail mass for shoppers looking for value, both in terms of the brands as well as the general merchandising,” says Dinesh Malpani, CCA, Head – Buying & Merchandising and CEO, Food Express Stores, a division of the Jubilant Group.

We're Talking Basics Here

The hypermarket is the Jubilant Group's second retail venture after their supermarket chain, Monday 2 Sunday.

Jumbo Saver is present within the 2,80,000 sq.ft Gopalan Mall on Mysore Road , Bangalore . Though the mall is yet to be formally launched, the 1,40,000 sq.ft Jumbo Saver is already operational. It is spread across the ground and first floors of the mall, which has been constructed across four floors and a basement area. The third floor is being planned for housing a food court, while talks are on with Adlabs as the entertainment anchor of the property.

The 70,000 sq.ft Jumbo Saver hypermarket hogs the entire first floor, while the various value formats of brands and retailers are present on the ground floor, including the company's own retail outlets such as a furniture store with merchandise (sourced from China ) offered at unbelievably low prices. The only eating outlet at the moment is the regional QSR, Swamy's, on the ground floor. There are fresh bakery and cooked meat products available within the hypermarket upstairs, but more about them later.

The outlets on the ground floor have been arranged in such a manner that factory outlets and value formats alternate with each other. Discounts available range from five to 60 per cent. Moreover, a shopper walking in gets a distinct feel of having walked into a differentiated environment. One hardly misses the slew of usual brands and retailers present in almost every other mall in the country at present.

An army of some 800 personnel man Jumbo Saver in three shifts. Currently this value retailing outlet is open seven days a week, from seven in the morning to 10 at night. The company is working towards a 24-hour format eventually. Jumbo Saver's parking space in the basement can accommodate about 400 four-wheelers and 800 two-wheelers.

Jumbo Saver has hit the jackpot in its choice of location, too. Bangalore 's Mysore Road is perhaps the most densely populated area of the city, with residential areas of the trading communities lining either side of this very busy stretch. The area sorely needed an organised retail format for a very long time now, which is why the launch of such a large scale, innovative format with such focussed offerings and positioning is all the more welcome.

Jumbo Saver's catchment includes Rajarajeswari Nagar (a fast developing residential area with a huge potential customer base), Banashankari, Rajajinagar, Jayanagar and Vijayanagar apart from Mysore Road itself. This stretch, in fact, is being re-fashioned along the lines of a four-lane expressway between Bangalore and Mysore . A new flyover and a new feeder road are also under construction. This will make commuting between the area and the main city much better.