“I am looking forward to the menu at the all-vegetarain food court,” grins actor Abhirami Venkatachalam, the Big Boss 3 contestant in a recorded video, who inaugurated the AMP Shopping mall at Saibaba Colony along with children from the Bala Bhavan Charitable Society.
“You can shop for clothing, apparel, home textiles, fashion jewellery, accessories, enjoy virtual reality games at the space and, of course, indulge in food at the 100 per cent vegetarian food court, the first in the city,” says Rajesh Keerthi, founder of ASK Era Infra Pvt Ltd, that has popularised the concept of convenience malls in the city. There are eight food outlets including Wah Ji Wah, the North Indian cuisine chain from Delhi; Waffle Hut from Bhopal; Veggy Wok Chinese food chain; Tirunelveli Hot halwa, among others.
The AMP mall at Raja Annamalai Road in Saibaba Colony primarily caters to shoppers in and around a five km-radius. The retail shops have no fixed rentals. Explains Rajesh, “I have worked in three Fortune-500 companies over 20 years. Some of the biggest issues faced by the retail segment are high rentals, manpower cost and the steep marketing budgets.”
The 18 outlets spread across an area of 5800 acres (ground and first floor) have adopted a sharing model. “The mall provides the infrastructure for the vendors. There is no shortage of manpower. Even the marketing budget for brand promotions are shared by the tenants. The model works on revenue sharing basis.”
ASK Era Infra has set up experimental malls at Vadavalli, Lawley Road, and Bharathi Park 8th Street.“These malls function under an area of 2000 sq.ft. “We want to motivate start-ups and young entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas. AMP gives the platform for them as the risks are minimal on this platform,” says Rajesh.
Upcoming projects include launching malls at Kovaipudur, Mettupalayam Road and Saravanampatti over areas ranging between 6000 sq ft and 40000 sq ft. To know more, contact: 84899-20002
