Srinagar, May 20: One of India’s leading retail chains, V-Mart opened a hypermarket store here today. The company which is a medium-sized hypermarket format retail chain looks forward to open five more such stores in the near future in the Valley.
 The showroom in Sara City Centre Mall, at Srinagar city’s commercial nerve centre, near Jehangir Chowk offers a rich variety of goods ranging from groceries to kitchen appliances.
 “We offer groceries, ladies’ wear, kids’ wear, men’s wear, footwear, accessories, luggage, crockery, home furnishing, kitchen appliances and plastic goods all under one roof,” said V-Mart General Manager - Operations Jai Banerjee.
 “We want to make shopping a pleasant experience for the customers,” he said, adding that the store and those in the pipeline would create employment for the local youth here.
 He said it was a “difficult decision” to start a showroom in the Valley because of its history, where conflict has taken a huge toll of the business sector.
 “Our Managing Director was very keen on opening a store in Srinagar. You have to start the ball rolling somewhere,” he said.
 Banerjee said they have done basic market research of the Valley customers and have worked out their shopping preferences.
 The owner of the mall where the showroom is located said the new retail chain culture will at least give a respite to shoppers from the traffic mess.
 “When all things are available under one roof, no one will bother to go around,” Mushtaq Ahmad Chayya, a leading hotelier and owner of the Sara City Centre Mall, said.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 21 May 2011 00:00:00 IST