Shop till you drop

Indian Express, November 10, 2003, Bangalore



The hoardings around town have been proclaiming the entry of Valdel’s FamilyMart and the new style of shopping that it will herald. Last week the famed ‘Supercentre’ opened its doors to the public and shoppers found themselves wandering across 1,00,000 sq.ft. of store space. It’s being touted as a one-stop shopping destination offering everything from great shopping facilities to food and entertainment under one roof. Say goodbye to your parking woes, FamilyMart can accommodate 300 cars and 450 two-wheelers.

Go to the 5,200 sq.ft. supermarket called Dailys which offers great bargains. M.J.Shantharaam, Managing Director, Valdel Group points out that the products marketed uner the Dailys brand name are value propositions amounting to big savings for the customer. Dailys will take care of your daily needs and its product range is soon to expand with exotic English vegetables and a liquor section which is awaiting permit. With six-feet aisle space and nine check-out counters, shopping at Dailys is meant to be a quick and easy affair.

While Dailys is for a quick run-through, not so the ground floor of the main building that houses Centra. Centra is the apparel, accessories, furnishings, footwear and other lifestyle product section, where you can spend hours browsing.

The special attraction in the women’s wear section is the home brand Maahi which promotes local artisans of ikkat, bandhani, dhaboo, kalamkari and block prints, all on pure cotton. There’s also a vast section for sarees – cotton, silk-cotton, mix and polycots. The jewellery section has costumes jewellery from Paris Bijoux while there is the real stuff from Naidu pearls and Fili. An eyewear section complete with an eye-testing lab, watches, perfumes and a total of 24 trial rooms are other attractions. Men have a variety of brands to choose from including the in-house brand of Austin Parker, while kids have the colourful Sparkler brand all to themselves. Centra itself has some 22 chek-out counters to make sure that you spend your time shopping, not in queues.

Whether it is furniture (wood, metal or glass), books, toys, stationery, luggage, home furnishings or decorative art, Centra’s second floor will take care of all your needs. Enjoy Italian, ethnic, continental or Chinese cuisine at the foodcourt which can seat up to 250 people. Lifestyle Clinique’s beauty salon, an Adlabs photo studio, a MusicWorld store – what more can one ask for?

If shopping with kids, leave the brats in the funzone under thw watchful eyes of a caretaker. The kids will have the time of their lives on the video games, dashing cars and soft play stations, and so will you.

Visit
FamilyMart at 22,
VI Phase, J.P.Nagar,
Kanakapura Road,
Bangalore.
Phone: +91-80-5121 6990