Many top brands have closed their outlets on Brigade Road, citing poor business and high rents.
Stores selling well-known apparel brands such as Flying Machine, VOI Jeans, People, Florsheim, Indian Terrain and Arrow are among those who have exited in recent weeks.
Brigade’s Shops and Establishments Association (BSEA) had 125 members before the pandemic broke out. It now has 100. “That’s because 25 establishments have closed their operations,” says Suhail Yusuf, secretary, BSEA.
About 10 businesses on Brigade Road are not members of the association. “But we make sure we convey all news of all developments to them. We don’t leave them out,” says Suhail.
Monthly rents on Brigade Road, regarded as Bengaluru’s high street, range between Rs 200 and Rs 400 per sq ft. “A couple of owners have reduced rents, but many have not compromised,” Suhail told Metrolife.
Fashion stores are running under heavy loss, says Suhail, who trades in Sony gadgets and Play Stations from a store that has been around since 1939.
Many salespeople are settling for lower salaries. The manager of a prominent apparel store was shocked when he was told to look for another job at short notice. “We have to feed our families and pay school fees, so many of us accepted lower salaries. This has been a harsh year,” he says.
Church St scene
Irfan Noor, secretary of Church Street Occupants Association, says he can even count the number of establishments shut on Church Street. “Smaller businesses vacated as soon as the lockdown was lifted. The rents were too high for them,” says Irfan, who runs two apparel stores.
On Church Street, monthly rents are in the range of Rs 100 to Rs 150 per sq ft for the ground floor. If the landlords reduce the rents by 50 per cent, many businesses will survive, he says.
A store on Church Street that sells clothes brought from Tiruppur, Mumbai and Delhi, has been slowly returning to normal. Shankar, owner, says, “The frequency of old customers has reduced. We see many new customers.”
He attributes new walk-ins to the weekend mela on Church Street. The traffic police are blocking traffic on Saturday and Sunday, and the BBMP is encouraging businesses to set up stalls on the footpaths.
Restaurant chains on Church Street say they are reeling under loss. “The last time we saw a packed restaurant was on March 22 last year. We are really struggling to stay afloat,” says the manager of a popular cafe.
‘Celebratory economy still on stretcher’
Harish Bijoor, brand expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, says brand owners are “reassessing the viability of their locations on the high streets of Bengaluru.” “Brands that already had a problem with footfalls and profits are taking the Covid-given opportunity to rejig their spaces. The first option is used to renegotiate rentals. When that fails, brands move to less expensive locations. These are pure business decisions one cannot grudge,” he says.
Many franchisees are under pressure and some are not too optimistic about the prospects. “The celebratory economy is still on the stretcher, but the fear economy is easing,” he says. Consumers believe the vaccine is near, and so won’t step out lest months of control and discipline go in vain, according to Bijoor. “The buzzword is safety. Unless retail ensures full safety, business will remain bad,” he says. He believes the good times will roll again in April, with a vaccine and possible onset of herd immunity.
Hatti Kaapi story
Many thought Hatti Kaapi, popular for its filter coffee, had closed down for good on Brigade Road. But founder and CEO U S Mahendar told Metrolife it would resume operations in about a week in another building in the vicinity. He says: “High rent forced us to move out. The owner wouldn’t budge one bit. We haven’t faced such problems from the owners of our other outlets. They have been kind enough to reduce rents till business picks up. We have now moved into Fifth Avenue, where we will be operating on a revenue-share model. With this, our rents have come down by 80 per cent.”