New Delhi:
The runaway success of India's first floating supermarket has enthused its owner Kerala Consumerfed to think of launching a floating mall, probably the world's first, that will take modern retail to villages by the backwaters.
The floating supermarket 'Triveni', which was launched mid last year and calls at various jetties in and around Alappuzha, is already making waves and an average business of about Rs 50,000 everyday -- not to forget this is from the rural areas.
A modern convenience store in the metros make anything between Rs one lakh and two lakh a day."We are considering a double-deck mall and most probably it should be in place in the next financial year," Consumerfed (Kerala State Consumer Cooperative Federation) Managing Director Reji Nair said.
Triveni is a single deck supermarket that is stacked with items of daily needs and groceries and the plan is to offer villagers living by the sylvan backwaters something more -- home appliances like washing machine or TV etc. by advance order.
It will cost anything near Rs 1 crore or more to build the new floating mall, said Maya M K, Accounts Manager of Consumerfed, which runs government-supported retail cooperative societies.
Triveni, which carries a crew of eight, is also a hit with tourists who hop on to it from houseboats to do shopping right in the middle of their holiday.
The backwaters of Alappuzha is home to nearly 600 houseboats and over one million people live on its banks.