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Ambar Singh Roy

The mall will cater to the requirements of the middle class population and upwards of it. The products on offer would be priced such that they suit everyone's budget.

Kolkata , Dec. 7

RETAILERS' paradise Kolkata, which is also believed to be the "wedding capital" of the country, will soon boast of the first-of-its-kind wedding mall in India where "end-to-end wedding solutions" will be on offer.

While the size of the wedding market on an all-India basis has been estimated to be of the order of Rs 50,000 crore annually, the size of the business in Kolkata has been pegged at over Rs 7,000 crore.

Spread over 20,000 sq.ft. of space in the heart of Kolkata, the Shagun Wedding Mall has been promoted by city-bred Mr Jaydeep K. Khaitan at an investment of around Rs 10 crore. The five-floor facility will have on offer a range of bridal wear and wedding accessories, jewellery, designer ensembles, crystalware, watches, footwear and handbags, among others. While most of the space would be taken up by offerings for brides, a small section would have men's wear and accessories for grooms as well.

Says Mr Khaitan: "The existing wedding malls in North India have multiple retailers. In Shagun Wedding Mall, we will be the only retailer present and we shall offer end-to-end wedding solutions under one roof." The mall will stock "purely Indian stuff" although an exception has been made in the case of branded and imported perfumes and cosmetics. Except for the branded cosmetics and perfumes, most of the products would be sold under the Shagun brand. According to Mr Khaitan, people from across the country come to Kolkata to buy heavy, embroidered sarees that are usually worn during weddings. "Labourers in Kolkata are experts in the fine art of embroidery. Sarees from Kolkata are sent and sold all over the country. While Mumbai tops in western wear and Delhi finds takers for northern wear such as lehenga chunnis and salwar suits, Kolkata is the place for embroidered, bridal sarees. Besides, Kolkata is very price competitive," he says.

The Shagun Wedding Mall will cater to the requirements of the middle class population and upwards of it. The products on offer would be priced such that they suit everyone's budget. For example, the sarees on offer would be priced at between Rs 200 and Rs 2 lakh.

With a few days to go before the public can step into the Shagun Wedding Mall, an upbeat Mr Khaitan says he expects to generate business of around Rs 30 crore within the next 12 months.

Plans in the years ahead include a phased rollout of Shagun Wedding Malls in major cities across the country, according to him.

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