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EMERGING ROUTE: Mysore has both domestic retailers and shopping malls moving in aggressively.

Another key factor indicating the undercurrent of change is the healthy growth in the retail market segment and most Tier-2 cities which witnessed a boom on the real estate front are now witnessing a significant change on the retail market front.

And Mysore is no exception, proving that the change and the growth is for real fuelled by investment in the IT and manufacturing sector followed by a slew of infrastructure projects that will only stimulate further growth.

While experts aver that Bangalore may have reached the limits of its growth, the spill-over impact is being felt in Mysore which has just begun to emerge from the shadows of the Silicon Valley of India. The city of palaces is set to absorb a sizeable chunk of the new labour force in the knowledge industry led by the IT and the BT sector.

That Mysore is poised for growth is evident in any number of surveys following which the Government cleared major infrastructure works to enhance its connectivity with the rest of India.

The pace at which the Airport Authority of India is upgrading the Mysore Airport to launch Boeing and Airbus services to the rest of the country by December 2008 has only gladdened the hearts of investors and reinforced their confidence in the city’s future prospects.

And now, Mysore’s retail market front is responding to the growing consumer base with penchant to spend and major players including Spencers, Fabcity, Loyal World, Nilgiris, Reliance Fresh, and West Side have already entered the fray. And the number is increasing. What is more, even the conventional retail segment is witnessing a structural change to keep pace with the growing aspirations of the new breed of brand-conscious consumers. This has been attributed to the increase in the IT and ITES companies which are expanding base to Tier-2 cities and here Mysore has been projected as the best alternative to Bangalore.

The net impact of the emerging scenario on the retail market front has been well documented and Mysore has been categorised under the emerging cities in a retail market survey published recently by Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj and titled “The Geography of Opportunity: The India 50” under its World Winning Cities Series and Emerging City Winners profile.

Incidentally, JLLM is reckoned to be the world’s leading integrated global real estate services and money management firm and one of the largest privately held real estate services companies in India, formerly known as Trammell Crow Meghraj (TCM).

While acknowledging that the four metros undoubtedly continue to remain the favourite spots in the retail and property segment, it notes the change of pace in other cities and its list of 50 has included Mysore where both domestic retailers and shopping malls are moving in aggressively.

Mysore has been bracketed along with Nagpur, Indore, Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram where, as per the JLLM survey, there is a shortage of branded shopping malls. The growth in these cities have been fuelled by increase in the disposal incomes of the emerging middle class, increase in corporate activity and the demand for organised retailing.

Underlining the investment opportunities in the retail segment which are in tune with the general trend prevailing in metros, the prevailing rentals per sq ft for retail and commercial hubs in Mysore continue to be attractive varying from a high of Rs.40 per sq ft in posh localities to a low of less than Rs.20 per sq ft in other localities.

After the buzz in the property sector, the winds of change are sweeping the retail sector in Mysore and this is already visible.

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