A glimpse of the newly-opened Shoppers’ Stop. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Shoppers’ Stop has opened its third outlet in the city at South City Mall. The store, the third largest in the country, has everything its two siblings at Forum and City Centre have to offer, and some more. Sprawled across 66,000 sq ft, the “larger environment” promises “a better experience” across two levels, ground and first.

Shoppers can now also choose from new labels that have joined the brandwagon — Mothercare, Charles & Keith, Tommy Hilfiger, footwear from Nine West, V. (pronounced V Dot) from Van Heusen, and cosmetics from Lancome, to mention just a few.

Shoppers can also refresh themselves at Brio, the chain’s in-house cafe, which will soon open at the other Shoppers’ Stop outlets. A small section on the first floor, strategically placed next to Brio, is occupied by Crossword.

A fashion show on Thursday showcased the store’s latest summer collections, starting with ethnic lines from Biba and Kashish to Western casuals from Levi’s, Lee and Push & Shove. Sporty, formal and party wear also walked the ramp to beats belted out by Krosswindz at the unveiling.

Fashion accessories like bags (Blue & Blues, Tommy Hilfiger, Rocky S and Hidesign) and footwear have a fairly large range at the store. “People are using non-apparel as fashion drivers. Earlier one had five dresses and two bags or earrings, now they have six dresses and six pairs of sandals to match,” explains Govind Shrikhande, the CEO of Shoppers’ Stop.

The retail chain is planning to branch out in cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar and Mangalore in the coming months. It also has an eye on smaller towns like Surat, Vijaywada, Vizag and Cochin.

In the east, there are no big plans for the coming financial year but “in the next two-three years, Siliguri, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Patna and Bhubaneswar are on the radar”.

The times they are a changin’, making it just right for retail rollout. “An emerging trend is that people dress up to go shopping, even if it is for groceries. Social behaviour also improves; you will never see rowdy people inside a mall or children misbehaving… People are becoming more socially conscious,” says B.S. Nagesh, the MD of Shoppers’ Stop.

Karo Christine Kumar