The High Mix Hub

Mention this to Palladium’s business development director Gayatri Ruia,and she gladly accepts the compliment. But she admits that the recession made her rework her strategy even as the mall opened its doors to the public in October 2009. “When I started out,I had this textbook definition of what a luxury mall should be — with only the premium brands under one roof.

But then I realised that what we needed was the right mix or as I call it,‘the high mix’. The idea was to get a mix of both luxury stores and popular brands,” she says.

Located in central Mumbai’s Lower Parel area,this sprawling mall is home to a mix of brands—so you have luxury stores such as Burberry,The Collective,DKNY and Canali under the same roof as high-street brands as Zara,Ed Hardy,Diesel and FCUK,to name a few. Designer Anita Dongre,who has two stores (Anita Dongre,a luxury pret and couture store,and Global Des,an affordable prêt store) at Palladium,claims that its USP lies in the fact that it offers quality products at different price points. “The huge price range and its central location make it an attractive shopping destination,” she says.

However,not everyone is excited by the ‘high mix’. Delhi-based designer Shantanu Mehra (of Shantanu and Nikhil duo),who had a store at Palladium from January 2010 to March 2011,notes how the most important thing for a luxury brand is its positioning. “We are into couture and wedding wear and we cater to a niche segment. I’d say that DLF Emporio (Delhi) scores over Palladium as the former offers exclusivity to the luxury brands. At Palladium,you also have Zara customers walk into a Rohit Bal store. That’s usually just window shopping and no real business. That’s why our first franchisee deal there proved to be a failed marriage,” he points out,also emphasising the need for promotions all year long.

However,Ruia is hesitant to straightjacket the brands as per their aspirational value. She reiterates that Palladium is not ‘a snobbish destination’ and it aims at providing the customer “a complete cultural experience”. She speaks of The Comedy Store,which hosts live stand-up comedy acts,and how they were initially skeptical about its reception. “We decided to go ahead and the move has paid off well,” she says. The diversification of this mall is not restricted to this. “This year,to celebrate the completion of our two years and Diwali,we are hosting several workshops—the first of which is a block printing workshop being held in aid of Ahilya,an NGO of women weavers,” she says. In future,she wants to host more promotional events to attract a larger clientele.

She is also more keen on experimentation than ever before; the reason being the opening of luxury hotel Shangri-La right next to Palladium in February 2012. With Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts,Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group,signing an agreement with Pallazzio Hotel and Leisure Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Phoenix Mills Limited) to manage the hotel’s A-lister patrons can bring flourishing business for Palladium’s luxury brands. “We are working with international artists,who are making installations for us. It will be done in phases. The plan is to make Palladium a cultural hub where people can have a fun,interactive experience,” she ends.