*MDV.Kumaraswamy
In my opinion it is too early to talk of over capacity as the concept of retail mall in India is still in the nacent stage and has not been fully appreciated. What will happen if Wal-mart decide to enter India and revloutionaise the relail industry ? The current players are still not playing the right game and have not fully integrated their operational effeciency as giants like Wal-mart have done. Retailing in all forms will begin to emerge in a more productive manner.

*Sandeep Sharma
Its a key issue which also indicates some level of herd mentality among retailers. Yet It seems to be in the right direction as MDV points out. Indian middle class or the mass consumer is definitely growing with lot of aspiration values and desires for changes in retail formats.

Retailers looking for top line achievements is also tapping as much retail space and get into organized retailing which at present is far below even compared to SE Asian countries what to talk of Europe and US and the likes of Walmarts. In fact petro retailers like us have also started looking at our retail station as retail space for future and working on various plans.

So it is only a matter of time ( right now I agree it is the nascent stage) . Infact, likes of BIG bazzar , food world etc have already shown the way on optimization of retail space with all possible integrations.

* Prof. Dwarika Prasad Uniyal
iI think we need to go to the historical evolution of retail formats in UK, then in US. The development of high streets and downtowns, and slowly the
malli'sm. In india, the traditional markets have evolved around specialised mandis and shops were developed on the both sides of main road of a city which worked as life line for that city. With organised retail just a decade old and the type of formats emerging, its still very early to say which ones will survive and evolve because like any business, in retail too the operational efficinces and critical know how will take some time. Secondly its typical of india that despite of bigger formats coming. hybrid and smaller retailers have grown up too. Since indian consumer class is very heteregenous and so many sub classes, for every CP there is a karol bagh, for a Forum Mall there is gharia hat , for every CG road there is a releif road which is very necessary to cater to the diffeentiated needs of segmented people.

Also it took WAL MART 40 years to reach where it is today. The biggest advantage with indian retailers is that they can benchmark against the best, avoid the mistakes early players have committed and reduce the evolution time to 5 years which was 25 in case of eurpoean formats. With FDI still a question mark, i guess indian retailers will have to learn on their own, understanding indian markets. The question of overcapacity will come little later as even consumers will learn to adapt themselves to new culture of shopping.

Though the shift has happened, from metros to A class towns to B class town.. retailers have slowly realised that skewed growth will be detrimental for their business. Even mall developers will realise that after a point no place can sustain if there is an overcapacity. for example 4 malls in gurgaon???
why can't we have 2 malls there and 2 at ludhiyana and chandigarh?? they are equally lucerative markets...? leaving you with this thought

* Abeer Chakravarty
Overcapacity isn't an issue yet and whether it will be is too premature to conclude at this nascent stage. We are still grappling with formats and markets, and not in a stage of consolidation and conclusion yet. Since we love jumping into a trend, I suspect there would be overcapacity.

Property developers would need to better understand that just any property won't help - key issues would be high-street location for city malls/supermarkets/chains, and anchors for malls. Too few are considering the crtitical need to have huge parking spaces with ability to cart the purchases to the car boot. So it is more likely that we will have wasted capacity rather than overcapacity.

* Raja Sekar
At present i see overcapcity happening only in certain clusters like Gurgaon,Delhi in the near future. But there is good demand for malls if we go beyond the
metros.These places will be the engines for the growth of organised retail after the metros.

Building capacities will also definately bring down one of the main entry barriers like high rentals and improve operational efficiencies.This will also help
to bring in new and smaller players with new concepts and services and contribute to the overall gowth of the organised retail industry.

1. SPIC MACAY presents Ke Jun from the Jiangsu Kunqu Opera, China
Date: 11th Dec 2003, Thursday
Time: 11.00 AM
Venue: Cathedral Composite PU College and High School, Richmond Road.
For details/passes logon to www.spicmacayblr.org or contact Ms. Nivedita Honnatti

2. In the Hour of God
Pattabhi Rama Reddy is proud to announce the staging of "In the Hour of God" on December 11th, 12th & 13th at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore. This play is inspired by Sri Aurobindo's Savitri. We are staging it as a tribute to Snehalata Reddy who had a great love for the theatre. Please do come and forward this to anyone who will be interested.
Direction & Music by Konarak Reddy
Featuring: Arundhati Raja, Ashok Mandanna, Hema Mandana, Jagdish Raja, Kirtana Kumar, Sameer Sheikh, Shiva Subramaniam, Tuffy Taraporevala
SFX & Surround Sound : Little Jasmine Films/DIGIFUNK Lighting Design : Daniella Zehnder
Video Edit : Challam Bennurkar Choreography : Tripura Kashyap Sets : Rajesh & Studioline
Sets Execution : Basil Carter Costumes : Julie Kagti, Sutra & Grasshopper
Photography : Sorab Mehta Sound & Lights : Reynold's Sound & Light Stage Management : Sneha, Shibani, Priya, Vijay, Nitin Publicity : Ahalya, Kala, Anjula AT CHOWDIAH MEMORIAL HALL, DECEMBER 11th, 12th & 13th 2003 Tickets are available at KC Das, Casa Picola (all branches) & Supermarket (Brigade Road)

3. Massive protest programme - 6 December

On 6th December various secular and progressive groups, organisations and individuals are jointly organising a massive protest demonstration in front of Town Hall. This protest is against the attempted communalisation of the Bababudangiri shrine by the Sangh Parivar and also against the communal mobilization by the VHP for its Virath Hindu Samajothsava in which Pravin Togadia will be participating.

We request all of you to gather in front of Town Hall by 4:30pm. Please bring placards, banners with you.

After the protest, there will be a cultural programme at Samsa open-air theatre (next to Town Hall) from 6:30pm onwards. A film on the Bababudangiri issue, made by Pedestrian Pictures, will also be screened during this programme.

Please join in large numbers to make the protest a success.
- Bababudangiri Souharda Vedike (Bangalore)

The second edition of The RainSeed Festival (hopefully, this time, the weather will be crisp, cold and clear) will find Thermal And A Quarter, Bangalore's favourite rock act, sharing stage for the first time with Antaragni, on December 6, 2003, Saturday, at TownsEnd, Yelahanka. Another eco-village on the lines of Trans-Indus, TownsEnd provides the perfect ambience for this mostly acoustic show.

Antaragni has made waves for its unique blend of Indian folk, and for the instantly recognizable vocal style of frontman Raghu. Featuring a revolving cast of stellar musicians, this is one group that is always a treat to watch live. As the opening act for Bryan Adams in Bangalore (2001), Antaragni acquired an even larger following. Currently, the lineup has Raghu on guitar and vocals, Allwyn Fernandes on guitar, mandolin, khomak, oud and percussion, Josy John on bass, and Gopinath on drums and percussion.

Also on the bill is stand-up comic Ashvin Matthew, a self-confessed 'clown at home, and generally all through life.' Ashvin studied drama in Sydney, Australia, where he honed his comic talents working as a waiter in a restaurant. He also studied radio and television production in Cyprus, where he seriously did the university, pub and festival comedy circuits. With recent performances at Sparks and various corporate events, he's all set to split those sides.

Put that on your to-do list for this weekend: Saturday, December 6, 2003 at TownsEnd, Yelahanka. 8 pm onwards. Donor passes at Rs 100 available at the venue. Be sure to spread the word.

For more information, call 9845384297