Like Connaught Place in Delhi and Commercial Street in Bangalore or T Nagar in Chennai, every city has its own shopping paradise, which draws both outsiders as well as locals. These paradises, termed as 'high streets' by property consultants and marketing honchos, have been thriving since time immemorial in some of the cities, while in others they came up in the post-liberalisation era.
International property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) recently compiled a book on 'high streets' in India.
The book, titled 'Leading High Streets of India – Embracing Change' takes a close look at 21 such high streets across seven cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.
These 21 streets have, in turn, been classified according to the period they came up in. The categories include pre-1950s, between 1950 and 1990, and post-liberalisation (1991 onwards.
Most of the pre-1950s shopping streets like T Nagar in Chennai, Colaba in Mumbai and M G Road in Pune were set up in the colonial times. Almost half of the shopping streets came up between the 1950s and 1990s. High streets that emerged after 1991 reflect the growth that ensued in the post-liberalisation years and are characterised by the physical extension of existing shopping streets or the extension of cities into suburbs and the formation of suburban markets.
"Despite the onslaught of high-end and new-era malls, these high streets continue to attract people and brands in droves," says Sanjay Chugh, associate director, JLLM. "The additional advantage is that high streets also offer brands high visibility and brand recall," he adds.
JLLM, which has conducted an in-depth study of these high streets, also listed the top 30 brands, cutting across categories such as apparels, sportwear, F&B, shoes, luggage, accessories as well as electronics that are visible on these shopping lanes. Interestingly, quite a few of the top 30 brands with high market penetration are international brands.
The top high-penetration brands are available on most of the high streets surveyed. Almost half of the top 30 brands have a presence in most of the 21 shopping streets.
The high level of presence is a validation of the importance of high-street stores in major shopping stretches for big retail brands operating in the country. It is also an important pointer that brands should have a diversified presence on the leading high streets, in addition to their presence in malls.
"There is no doubt that India's shopping streets have had a prominent position in the country's retail offerings over the decades and indicate that these high streets would maintain their unique position in the future, given their inherent ability to adapt themselves to reflect the changing aspirations of
consumers as well as the changing retail trends," the book says.
"Moreover, with the possibility of shopping street revitalisation becoming an increasing reality across markets in the coming years, the retail pitch of high streets is expected to be enhanced in the future, thereby allowing for the inclusive growth of retail along these prime corridors in Indian cities," the JLLM book points out.