The Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) is all set to overhaul the marketing model of Mahila Mall in Kozhikode.
The mall, a Kudumbashree venture and claimed to be the first-of-its-kind in the country, experiences dwindling customer numbers during off-season, resulting in an unsteady source of income for participating women entrepreneurs and outlet owners. The financial crunch has led to difficulty in paying rent, electricity bills and salaries of those employed in the outlets.
A statement said IIM-K, under its Social Outreach Programme, has reached out to Unity Group in a coordination meeting held on Monday, to overcome the lacunae and carry out a pro bono study of their marketing model to revamp and restructure the marketing strategy for Mahila Mall.
The project will be spearheaded by Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM-K, and Deepa Sethi, Chairperson, Humanities and Liberal Arts in Management, IIM-K. It will include a team of six students who will take it up as a live project. The team will furnish a detailed report with corrective measures to overcome the lean trading patch experienced by the Kudumbashree venture.
Inclusive growth
Mr. Chatterjee said connections between society and educational institutions provided the best framework for inclusive growth and the IIM-K made constant effort to strengthen social capital through “our knowledge, expertise and skills” .
The mall is the biggest venture of any Kudumbasree self-help group and is stated to provide jobs to 250 women directly and 500 women indirectly.
Vijaya K., Secretary, Unity Group, Kudumbashree, said financial security was crucial for a self-help model like Kudumbashree. “We are hoping that IIM-K with its expertise and know-how will help us in making Mahila Mall a financially sustainable role model in the true spirit for what the Kudumbashree project is known world over.”
