The second wave of Covid-19 has taken a heavy toll on the finances of the state’s shopping malls that had remained closed for several months to keep the infections at bay. Now, the Odisha government has permitted the malls to reopen in adherence to Covid protocol and people have started visiting the malls as the second wave is subsiding. It seems shopping malls have started recovering faster as compared to the first wave. During an interaction with Orissa POST, Symphony Mall Director Ekalavya Mahapatra shared his experiences of handling the once-in-a-century challenge. Excerpts:
Since safety takes precedence over every other thing now, what are the precautions your mall is taking to avoid infections?
We are very much concerned about safety of our customers. We ensure all possible measures to avoid spread of infections. First, we have set thermal screening at every entry point in our shopping mall. Second, as per the state government’s guidelines, we allow entry of those customers who have received both the vaccine doses. We are ensuring sanitisation at every touch point such as knobs, accelerators, doors and others. We also collect contact details of visitors for safety purposes. Thanks to state government’s drive-in vaccination centre at our mall, we have vaccinated over 1,000 people every day in last two and half months.
The pandemic has had devastating impact on every sector of the economy. How did you handle the challenges?
Of course, the challenge was immense but I think the worst is over. See, all shopping malls run when there are customers. We faced the same situation last year and this year too. We are also prepared to face it the next year as well, but hope we won’t.
How, according to you, would the current financial year pan out?
Well, we faced huge obstacles as we witnessed lockdowns and shutdowns owing to the pandemic. We saw drop in our business. Last year, we registered only 40 per cent of our average target. We are now recovering. We hope by this entire festivity season, we may be doing double what we are doing now. I have requested Inox to host old film festivals like special weeks on Amitabh Bachchan or James Bond that would fetch a good number of customers. We expect a promising future.
How important is the location for opening a mall?
For opening a mall, location holds utmost significance. I and my team always believe in making something that can last for at least 12 years. We set up this Symphony Mall with a target that it will be successful for the next five years down the line. The area here is growing. We have seen big changes since our mall’s inception. If we have 3,000 footfalls at the mall, 2,999 are shoppers. I believe that this mall is doing well and will continue to do so.
Tell us about family entertainment centres (FECs) and their significance in malls?
FECs play a big role in mall business. Malls encompass three words – shopping, food and entertainment. In India, FECs came to the scenario in the recent few years when a few malls invested a sizeable amount in the segment. FECs help in generating a lot of revenues because families love to bring their kids to malls for their entertainment. We spent a lot of time planning for the same. We have been planning a joint entertainment zone that comprises movies, books, games, food and social bar experience. Malls now leverage technology to boost FECs.