Forum brings big brands to Bhubaneswar

If the presence of big brands adds dimensions to the status of a city, then Bhubaneswar is the most happening city in the east. Big Bazaar, Pizza Hut, Planet M, Planet Sports, Bata, Style Shoes.

Moustache, Duke, Archies, Gili, Provogue, Buddy Davis, Blackberrys "" name any top brand that has become symbol of consumerism in big metros, they are all here in Bhubaneswar now.

And one umbrella which assembles all these names under one roof is the Forum Mart- a 1.75 lakh sq ft modern shopping-cum-entertainment and commercial complex built at Satya Nagar, in the heart of the city, by the Sarafs of Kolkata.

To begin with, Big Bazaar, the flagship of the Rs 450 crore Pantaloon group opened its store in the Mart on Saturday. The leading retail chain has taken on rent a huge 36,000 sq ft space comprising three floors of the mall, besides the basement.

"We are proud to open our ninth Big Bazaar in the country at Bhubaneswar", says Kishore Biyani, managing director, Pantaloon Retail India.

The products on display at the three level store includes whole range of women's apparel, men's apparel, accessories like belt and bags, cosmetics, gold jewellery, kids wear, stationary and toys, electronic goods, furniture, foot wear, plastic and home needs like bed sheets, towels and utensils and home appliances, gift articles, food, vegetables and groceries.

The Kolkata based Sunsam Properties has constructed the shopping mall at a whopping cost of Rs 20 crore. The mall will cater to the complete shopping needs of people in the city, said Rahul Saraf, managing director of the company. As many as 50 branded stores will be accommodated in the mall.

While some of them have already signed up for space in the complex, negotiations are going on with others, he said. The entire complex will provide direct employment to around 700 people.

The mall is fully air-conditioned and equipped with glass capsule elevators, integrated security system, smoke detectors, terrace gardens and 65,000 sq ft intelligent office space, Saraf said, adding, among other things, it will soon have a multi-cuisine food court, restaurant, crèche-cum-children's play area, bowling alley, video arcade, pub and discotheque.

Sunsam Properties has developed West Bengal's first IT park, Infinity, in collaboration with West Bengal Electronics Development Corporation and also Kolkata's first international standard shopping mall-Forum-that includes a multiplex.

The company plans to add a multiplex to its Bhubaneswar mall as well. It has already identified a place close to the mall for this purpose and will develop it as soon as the state government comes out with a policy for multiplexes.

Saraf said, it is expected that the policy will entail waiver of entertainment tax for the first few years and flexible timing for screening of movies.