Well, I atleast wouldn’t recommend all shoppers to stop! Shoppers Stop (SS) does have a wide variety of...a lot of things actually, but when seen in totality, the shopping experience doesn’t live up to the expected mark.
For starters, let’s look into why you might stop at shoppers stop.
Shoppers Stop houses a wide range of commodities. Right from small n economical stuff like perfumed candles, to small n not-so-economical stuff like swiss watches & platinum jewellery. The things in-between range from clothes for people in the 0-120 age group to toys, video games, music & books.
The most shopped-for commodity garments: well, you shall find most of the popular brands in India. A few of the prominent brands are Levi’s, Nike, Reebok, Arvind mill (lee, FM), Madura Coats (Louis Phillipe, Van heusen n the like).It also has it’s won brands...Life, STOP!, etc. You wouldn’t find the entire range in an of these brands for Shoppers Stop practices like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) whereby you will mostly find items that are fast moving. So, all the talk about a lot of variety goes for a six.
One would expect a wide range of blazers and suits in a place like SS. But one will be sorely disappointed. Over 90% of the blazers are of a brand called ’’THEME’’. I hadn’t heard of this brand until the day I went blazer shopping to SS...yeah was a gross waste of time!
The major let-down though (in the men’s garment section) is the accessories section. The range of ties, belts, socks n the likes is very limited. Most of the products in these categories are un-branded and I believe, of sub-standard quality.
I haven’t shopped much in the ladies section, and even when I have, I had little idea of what exactly I was purchasing. Hence, I shall refrain from reviewing the same.
Coming to my favourite section...watches!! Well, you get most ’low-level’ (Rs. 3k - 20k) swiss watches....Tag heur, Swatch, Tissot, etc. You will also find our very own Titan gadis! If you are looking for watches in the Rs. 1k - 20k price range, you shall get decent variety. Go into the highly priced section though, and there is hardly any choice. I presume when you r shelling out that kinda money, you would expect a lot of variety. SS doesn’t think so :)
Perfumes: This is one place where SS does manage to live upto the mark. All popular brands (Ferrari, Armani, Versace, CD, Hugo..) and not- so - popular brands are available. It covers a wide price range as well. Since you can’t be sure about the authenticity of perfumes from smaller retail shops, it’s better to go to a mall like SS.
Jewellery: Another item I have never shopped for at SS. But rest assured there’s no jewellery shop in there! :)
Music & Books: In Chennai, it has tied up with Music World and Crosswords. It has a whole floor dedicated to these two. I guess I don’t need to elaborate on MW and Crosswords. This tie-up is limited to chennai though. It has a tie-up with qwickys coffee pub at bangalore.
Speaking about location, it’s usually located in a central area...Crossroads in Mumbai and Ansal Plaza in New Delhi. In Chennai, it’s located in Harrington Road. Parking is available in plenty in Chennai n New Delhi. Couldn’t say the same about B’lore & Mumbai.
So, why after quite a few plusses won’t I shop at SS?? The rationale behind this is:
Discounts: You wouldn’t get a discount other than the time where they go on their yearly sale. Even a discount of 15%, which is what one usually gets if you shop in an exclusive showroom, adds up to a lot. (yeah...I’m a true Indian...always on the look-out for the ’discount’) ;)
Variety: An exclusive showroom for any garment would have much more variety that SS. So, if you like only a few brands, you might as well go to their showroom. There are exclusive outlets for stuff like watches, and one would get more variety and faster service (repairs) at such places.
Atmosphere at SS: The salesman n woman fally woefully short of the mark. I actually have seen a few who have trouble conversing in english! Their billing process too takes a awful long time, and all that just goes to spoil the XP.
My rationale may not hold good for quite a few of you...in that case go ahead and shop at SS. And if you do agree, get a move on mate :)
N as my economics lecturer says: Your country needs you to spend. You stick to just saving, n u will soon have nothing to save. SO, have a pleasant shopping experience. Happy New Year, dear fellow MSer!