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Easy on the purse
DIFFICULT TIMES? Snail-paced salary hikes overtaken by runaway prices? Desperate for genuine bargains? Welcome to Big Bazaar on Hosur Road, a destination that houses all kinds of household products under one roof, with a guarantee of "genuine discounts", with the products ranging from cereals and clothes to electronic gadgets.
The store has three floors, with the food section strategically placed at the ground level, with the toy section tantalisingly displayed so as to capture the attention of junior accompaniments to the shoppers. Signs proclaiming hefty discounts and bargains greet the shopper on every floor.
Says Pearlraj Cannivady, Assistant Marketing Manager of the store: "Our prices cannot be matched anywhere in Bangalore. If one does, we give an undertaking to refund twice the difference in the price." The prices offered appear to ensure that. Sample these: three two-litre bottles of Coke or Fanta, going at Rs. 95, with five Crispys thrown in for free, and Sona Masoori rice, priced at Rs. 14.90 per kg.
Fresh vegetables and fruits line one side of the food section. Another section, copying a pizza outlet's slogan, asks: "Hungry Kya?" You have plenty of ready-to-eats lined up there. There are also rows and rows of pots, pans, cookers, crockery, and cutlery, almost tempting you to start cooking right there.
Move over to the first floor, and the shopper is greeted with a stationery counter, a clock counter displaying various popular brands including Titan and Timex (all sold below the M.R.P), and a counter selling mobile phone accessories. But the most irresistible is the section selling household appliances and various electronic gadgets, again at massive discounts. For instance, an LG 44-inch Digital Flatron TV set, which costs Rs. 1,20,000, comes with a free LG DVD player that costs Rs. 10,000. A National Panasonic 29-inch TV is sold at a discount of Rs. 5,000. Also on the same floor are plastic items and household linen. However, unlike the food and household appliances sections, the linen section fails to impress. The price of carpets ranges from Rs. 425 to Rs. 2,599. But they score only in terms of their prices.
On the second floor, one is drowned in a sea of clothes for men, women, and children. You could pick a sari here at a price as low as Rs. 59, a salwar set at Rs. 180, a formal shirt at an unbelievable Rs. 99, or a T-shirt at Rs. 75. You can pick a dress for your child at Rs. 99, and if it is an infant, at Rs. 30. However, if you are someone who goes for brands and specific style, you are in the wrong place.
There is a sweetmeat corner on the second floor, sublet to Arya Bhavan, selling hot samosas, kachories, and cold badam kheer, along with a variety of mouth-watering sweets. Claims Mr. Cannivady: "The sweets and snacks are replenished three times a day and four times on weekends. So you can imagine how fresh the stocks are."
Says Tara Ravindran, a teacher and frequent visitor to the store: "The place offers good quality, reasonable variety at affordable cost, and more importantly, I can get everything under one roof." Adds Shyamala, housewife: "Prices offered are competitive and the quality is not bad."
But if you plan to make this store your destination this weekend, think again. For, utter chaos prevails on weekends, with hundreds flocking at the checkout counters. But assures Mr. Cannivady: "We have now opened more counters and it is now smooth sailing at the checkout counters."
You can call Big Bazaar on 6531020/24/25.
NANDHINI SUNDAR
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