Malls are ready to go. The worry is how to reach them.
The government has allowed reopening of malls from Wednesday with a cap of 30 per cent visitors and 25 per cent employees. Mall operators said the absence of public transport would automatically translate to a much lower footfall.
The same reason has put people who work in malls in a spot of bother.
Store owners said the worry was about finalising the workforce and the modes of their journey between home and work. Mall operators, on the other hand, have arranged for the accommodation of a pool of workers either inside the malls or at a place nearby.
A lifestyle store in South City Mall, spread across two floors and spanning 70,000sqft, had over 450 employees across all divisions, from housekeeping to cash.
“The announcement came suddenly. We are splitting hairs to shortlist the number of employees we will start operations with from Wednesday. A section of our employees went back to their native places just before the new curbs came into being. They cannot be called back immediately because of the suspension of train services,” said the manager.
An apparel store in Quest Mall would resume operations with four employees instead of 10. “Two of us have two-wheelers. We will pick up a colleague each while coming to work and drop them home,” said the manager of the store.
Mall operators said since only people with private vehicles are expected to drop in, the number of visitors at a mall would be on the lower side. The rush, if any, would be at restaurants especially on weekends, they said.
“We have a retail space of around 700,000sqft. A third of our capacity would be above 30,000 people. But we are not expecting more than 3,000 people at a time,” said Dip Biswas, deputy general manager, South City Mall.
Based on last year’s post-lockdown experience, mall operators said the footfall would be between 2,000-3,000 at a time at most.
“When we had resumed operations after the lockdown last year (from June 8), it took a long time for the footfall to go up. We don’t expect anything different this time,” said K. Vijayan, the general manager of Acropolis Mall.
The Monday notification also put a 25 per cent cap on the workforce. Most malls have a large workforce. Some of the bigger stores inside the malls have hundreds of employees.
All employees reporting for duty from Monday have at least got the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, said mall operators.
Quest Mall has a staff size of over 400. “We are looking at 120-odd people to start with. A section of them has been living on site. For the rest, we will arrange a pickup and drop, like we had been since last year,” said Sanjeev Mehra, the vice-president of Quest Mall.
South City Mall and Acropolis Mall would not arrange for transport for all their employees immediately. “The agency in charge of security has kept guards in barracks near the mall. Our housekeeping staff usually live in the vicinity of the mall and come on two-wheelers. Other employees would come on two-wheelers or their private vehicles, picking up colleagues on their way to work and dropping them home,” said Vijayan.
Biswas said a team of around 150 people involved in security, housekeeping and other facility management work have been living inside the mall.
“The operations staff would drive or ride their two-wheelers to work. We are encouraging car-pooling,” he said.
Some smaller stores with fewer people will not be able to abide by the 25 per cent cap. “We have a 1,500sq ft store and just six employees. We will operate with three persons each in two shifts from Wednesday,” said the manager of an Italian apparel brand’s store in Quest Mall.