Unorganised retailers get ready to tackle malls!

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The new slogan for small retailers is 'United we stand'. Unorganised players are getting together to take on the might of the malls, reports CNBC-TV18.

The mom-and-pop stores, as they are called, are getting together to battle the mall rush. In Rajkot, small and medium unorganised retailers got into a huddle after Big Bazaar and Subhiksha made their entry last year. Driven by the Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 4000 traditional retailers have organised themselves under a single umbrella brand.

These retailers will now be organised into clusters based on locations. All stores in a cluster wil sport common branding, packaging material; even the outlets will look the same. Even discount coupons offered by one retailer in a particular cluster will be applicable in all stores. After Rajkot, Mumbai is now experimenting with this model.

The capital may follow suit soon. Sources say, one of Delhi's oldest market, Connaught place, could soon adopt this model. The Rajkot Chamber of Commerce, has asked Technopak to design a sustainable commercial model, which should be implemented in the next six months. Besides infrastructure sharing, retailers will also see benefits of bulk buying.

Anuj Puri , Chairman & Country Head, JLL , "They will buy in bulk and so get discounts."

In addition, customers enjoy a couple of advantages when they buy from traditional retailers. These are credit to customers, home delivery and relatively lower real estate costs, which may hit mall developers.

If these experiments work, marketplaces around the country could be in for more than just a facelift.