Commissariat is country’s hottest highstreet

BANGALORE’S retail landscape is witnessing significant changes with the emergence of new highstreets. Commissariat Road, a one-kilometer stretch located in the city’s CBD, has quietly become the country’s hottest emerging retail catchment with daily grossings of Rs 4.5 crore. Now, retail pundits are also betting on Vittal Mallya Road as a world class highstreet in the making with the 1.5 million sq ft mixed use UB City as the anchor. UB City, nearing completion, will house one of the first super luxury malls in India adding lustre to the street that already has Nautica, Esprit and ethnic chic brands like Satya Paul. Commissariat Road appears to have upstaged other new mall-centric retail hotspots like the NCR’s Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and Mumbai’s Malad-Link Road.

The first four months of 2007 have seen this high street clock an average of Rs 4.5 crore in daily billings. Average sales per day for the Jan-April period from the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road stood at Rs 3.6 crore, while for the Malad-Link Road it was Rs 2.9 crore, according to a survey by real estate consultant Asipac Group. And retail industry heavyweights like Future Group’s chief executive officer Kishore Biyani concurs with Commissariat Road’s emergence as one of the busiest retail hotspots. But the industry appears divided over the size and significance of its daily business when compared to traditional retail spots like Connaught Place in New Delhi or Linking Road in Mumbai. Incidentally, the retail sector in Bangalore is growing at 45% year-on-year.

The city today figures among the list of preferred launch markets in the country. Commissariat Road is home to retail anchors such as Bangalore Central, Garuda Mall, Shoppers Stop, Home Stop, Globus and Lifestyle. The survey states that Bangalore Central was the highest grosser on this high street, followed by the Lifestyle store and Shoppers’ Stop. “Commissariat Road’s unique advantage over Malad-Link Road or Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road is that it is located in the heart of Bangalore, while the others are in suburban locations. The average number of bills/receipts issued by various retail anchors combine stands at 29,000 per day,” said Amit Bagaria, chief executive officer, Asipac Group.

However, even while recognising Commissariat’s climb to the top of retail spots, a section of the retail industry argue that its growth could plateau in the medium term as it does not qualify as a shopping high street. “The street, no doubt, is one physical entity. But it is punctured by busy traffic stops. It is not possible to stroll down the street and has no cafes to hop into. It does not qualify as a highstreet, unlike Brigade Road, in the true sense,” says Fazle Naqvi, President LMG Brands, a division of Landmark Group.