Maharashtra’s tourism capital used to be a typical small town. It’s now making a dramatic entry on India’s consumer map
Sachin Nagori won’t forget the occasion in a hurry. It isn’t often that an unknown businessman in distant Aurangabad is chased by The New York Times or The Times of India for an interview. Or have Wilfried Aulbur, the then managing director of Mercedes Benz India, drop by at his house.
Back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Aurangabad was a typical Marathwada town. People were primarily into agriculture and industry mainly comprised local units in textiles, silver and gold handicrafts, which were sold to eager tourists. The creation of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in the late ’80s saw the arrival of big business houses like Bajaj Auto and Garware.
As a result, Big Bazaar, located on Jalna Road and one of the first retail outlets to set up shop, does not have the clean straight aisles of a typical Western supermarket. “The design allowed more people to talk, discuss and then decide, unlike in the West. And the customer is doing nothing but getting another pair of senses along with him,” says Mall. The idea was to make it look like a value and bargaining place. And almost on cue, customers invariably ask for discounts. Mall says he finds the highest level of bargaining in the Swiss watch counter. “It is not that the average Indian consumer is out there to splurge. The intent to extract value is still very strong,” he adds.
(This story appears in the 11 March, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)