Retail giants shy of moving into mixed neighbourhoods

North Chennai

may have developed into a potential market for upmarket retail brands over the years, but is yet to gain the complete trust of retail giants who are still reluctant to set up their premium outlets in the area.

Housing a mixed population of low, middle and upper middle class people, North Chennai may well be said to be gentrifying but the pace of change doesn’t seem to have caught the eyes of upmarket retailers. This, despite the fact that pockets of Perambur, Old Washermenpet and Parry’s Corner have a history of rich colonial heritage. Perambur was one of the oldest British settlements in Madras. Even at present, the place has the largest Anglo-Indian population in the country. Similarly, Old Washermenpet once used to be a shopping paradise like T Nagar due to the presence of several textile outlets.

Upmarket retail brands like Naturals, Green trends, NAC Jewellers, Reliance Trends and Mega Mart have already established a strong base in localities like TH Road and Walltax Road, which are business-dominated. But, when it comes to the presence of prominent skin care clinics like Kaya Skin Clinic or Satin Skin Laser Clinics, North Chennai is yet to open its account.

Despite the presence of Essensuals outlets, parent company Tony and Guy has no branches in the area. Similarly, while Perambur and Villivakam have My Kalyan, one doesn’t find a Kalyan Jewellers showroom in North Chennai. While there are restaurants like Adyar Ananda Bhavan and other hole-in-the-wall eateries, there are there no outlets of Pizza Hut, Café Coffee Day or Saravana Bhavan.

Why are brands reluctant to launch more branches or make their complete presence in North Chennai? The mixed demographics seems to have created in the minds of businesses a feeling of uncertainty about the area. "Brands open their outlets only after realising the value of the area. Though the demographics of North Chennai population have improved vastly, people despite having disposable incomes, are still reluctant to spend on luxury items like home décor or gourmet food items" says Blessing Manikandan, CEO of Tony and Guy, South and East India. Pooja, a resident of Old Washermenpet, says, "These days, beauty care has become a necessity. Eating a pizza or buying electronics from an upmarket retail enterprise like Croma isn’t. I would never buy a salwar-suit from a shop like Biba or Soch for Rs 2,500, when I know I can get it in the neighbourhood shop for Rs 800."

Nevertheless, with development and working population, north Chennai is slowly shedding its image. Khushboo, a long-time resident of Old Washermenpet, says, "People used to be afraid when I talk about my area as all they heard about it was chain snatching and murder through TV. Cash-on-delivery orders were not taken as the delivery boys were afraid that a few bully boys and thugs would rob them, but times are changing as many are working or studying," adds Khushboo.

"We are shortly coming up with an outlet of Dominos in Tiruvottiyur," says Arasu, manager of the pizza chain in North Chennai. He however rues that North Chennai needs a lot of development for them to establish a firm base in the area. "Acute space crunch in the area is one of the roadblocks that we face in expanding our business here. We hope that things will change after the introduction of metro rail to the area," he adds.

District-level managers of food chains like Pizza Hut say that the demographics of the area is changing with the migration of the educated middle class who can afford their services. They however say that the area is yet to make an impact on the retail food sector.