What made over 35,000 people throng Acropolis mall on Saturday at 9pm? Huge price cuts, courtesy the Acropolis Midnight Sale Season II, in association with t2! With up to 50 per cent discounts at most stores, offers and deals in the food court, a live band and a fashion show in the atrium, people made the most of the three-hour window they got. “The sale has been an extremely successful event. All the shops were jam-packed with shoppers who shopped till they almost dropped. There was not a single customer who left the mall with an empty hand,” said Sushil Mohta, CMD, Merlin Group. Here’s a look at what transpired  at the Kasba-Bypass connector address.

MOODS AND MOMENTS

Clueless about shopping but don’t want to let go of the sale benefits? Phone a friend for some quick tips! 

Who has the time to queue up in front of crowded fitting rooms? Let’s just do it right here! We spotted this enthusiastic shopper at the Celio store trying on one shirt after the other and other shoppers could not help but stare. 

What do you do when you are flooded with customer queries? Stand on the top of a display table and take charge #LikeABoss, just like this sales assistant who was helping shoppers make up their minds despite the madness. 

The ONLY store, packed to the rafters at 10.30pm, was a sight to look at. “We closed at 1.30am with sales of 
around Rs 5.89 lakh. Tops and T-shirts sold the most, and were the first ones to fly off the shelves,” said Kahini Chakraborty, store manager, ONLY, Acropolis mall. 

Taking a break from shopping, this young woman turned on the video of her phone camera when the live band played Pehla nasha and broke into a jig. Our camera couldn’t help but go #ClickClick

KIDS’ NIGHT OUT

While the grown-ups made a beeline for payment, this little one found a corner for himself to watch some videos on the mobile phone in peace. #WhoCaresAboutShopping

Gaming is so much better than shopping! Timezone on the third floor kept the kids busy while the parents browsed the shelves. 

We couldn’t help but go LOL over this cutie’s exasperated expression as her parents got busy debating their choice of suitcase! 

The little ones weren’t far behind. Little Shop was one of the most crowded spots which saw children of all ages getting busy browsing and buying. 

MEET THE SHOPPERS

Subhasini Heliwal walked in at 8pm, an hour before the sale started, to reap early bird benefits. “It was crazy! The deals were damn good. I ended up shopping from ONLY, Vero Moda and The Body Shop and spent almost Rs 9,000, but it was value for money. The collection was great,” said the student of J.D. Birla Institute with her haul at The Body Shop. 

For mother and daughter Shilpi Khatawkar (left) and Zyna Agradeep, a movie date turned into a shopping spree. “We came to know about the sale when we came here to watch a film. My daughter and I shopped quite a lot from stores like ONLY, Vero Moda and Marks & Spencer. We loved the experience as it was so well-organised,” said Shilpi, a marketing professional. 

This family of doctors made the most of their time shopping. “I live in Calcutta, and my parents are visiting the city for a conference. So I took them out shopping. My father was quite excited and I mostly bought clothes for him. I shopped for my mother and husband, too, from Celio, Fabindia and Global Desi,” said Swati (left). 

“I am a regular buyer of Vero Moda. There was a huge rush and a long queue, but I was determined to shop, so I waited a good 20 minutes to try since all the brands had put up a notice of no exchange or return. We got so tired at the end that we needed to get to the food court and replenish ourselves with some shakes,” said Shuchi Kapoor, a homemaker who walked out a happy shopper around 1am. 

It was Upasana Chakraborty’s second stint at the sale as she had shopped during the last midnight sale as well. “This year, too, the experience was pretty neat! I ended up buying from ONLY, Allen Solly and Shoppers Stop,” said the student of Asutosh College. 

For siblings Puja (left) and Honey Agarwalla, midnight sales are something they never miss. “We attended the sale at Acropolis mall last year as well. This time our top picks were Vero Moda, ONLY and Marks & Spencer. We were looking for tops and we did manage to find some good ones,” said Puja. 

Sree Biswas (right) decided to drop in at the mall with friend Avishek Mitra and ended up buying  lots of clothes for herself and her mother. “I didn’t plan this at all but I shopped so much! I bought dresses, tops, pants and I loved the collection at Vero Moda. My colleagues think I am a complete shopaholic,” said Sree, who works with an NGO. 

This husband-wife duo came all the way from New Town for the sale. “Usually it’s me who does all the shopping but today was my lucky day as my husband decided to accompany me. We shopped from Vero Moda, Jack & Jones and ONLY. Malls shut down by 9pm and here we are shopping post-9... it’s such a different concept,” said Samiksha Arora (right), an HR professional. 

A family that shops together stays together! Virali Mehta (right), who came all prepared to shop with her parents, was happy with the outcome. “The best part of this sale is that we could buy so many things in such a short period of time. I didn’t just shop for myself, my parents had their share of shopping too,” said Virali whose buy list included clothes from Levi’s, Being Human, ONLY and Vero Moda.

First-timers Shriya (left) and Richa Agarwal didn’t have a plan and had dropped in for the experience, but they did return home with some bags. “We loved the collection at Fusion Beats and bought T-shirts and tops from there. Some of the items available at the sale did catch our eye,” said Shriya, an interior designing student at J.D. Birla Institute.

We spotted Mahek Hanswani fully focused on the task at hand at Jack & Jones. “It was my first time at the mall, and it was really exciting to see the sale. It was nice to see people of all ages. The band was pretty cool. I shopped a couple of trousers, tops and tees and I also shopped for my dad. We then moved to the food court to eat a little,” said the graduate from The Bhawanipur Education Society College.

IN NUMBERS

Total footfall: Around 35,000 
Total sales: Rs 3.75 crore
Highest sale of a brand: Shoppers Stop, Rs 60 Lakh
Food court sales: Rs 10 lakh 
Highest sale recorded by a restaurant inside the mall: Chilis, Rs 3.5 lakh
Top five brands with highest sales by value: Jack & Jones, ONLY, Vero Moda, UCB, Titan

ON THE SIDELINES

Models sashayed down the makeshift runway in the atrium in clothes from Vero Moda, ONLY, Jack & Jones and Shoppers Stop.

City-based hard rock band Banned Frequency kept the shoppers in high spirits with Bollywood and Bengali tracks. Many shoppers stopped by the stage to catch their breath and unwind for a while. 

The food court saw a hungry tide. After all, such heavy-duty shopping needs refuelling. While places like Wow! Momo had a buy-one-get-one offer, Drunken Monkey and Afraa Deli offered 10 and 20 per cent  discounts on food and beverages. No wonder the food court was chock-a-block. 

Text: Zeba Akhtar & Nandini Ganguly
Pictures: B. Halder and Arnab Mondal