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Extreme shopping: Retail therapy in Karachi
For those with a penchant for shopping, Karachi's malls and shopping centres are a blessing. With so many places to choose from, Karachiites are spoilt for choice, though many prefer one over the other for their own reasons and the uniqueness each place has to offer
By Aqsa Hussain
Whoever said money can't buy happiness probably didn't know where to go shopping. Karachi's landscape, which is dotted with many shopping centres, could provide much relief in form of retail therapy to those seeking it. Shopping centres such as Saddar, Tariq Road, Zamzama, Zaib-un-nissa Street, Hyderi and Waterpump are popular for extreme shopping binges. Karachi's malls on the other
hand; Park Towers, Forum, Millennium Mall and Dolmen Mall, attract hoards of people, not all of them looking to shop. Most people just enjoy hanging at the malls. Come heat, rain or power breakdown, Karachiites find refuge at the malls. This is not to say mall enthusiasts don't shop. Avid customers head out to malls to browse at their favourite stores, with a growing variety of brands available at all of them, from groceries and electronics to designer clothes; these malls house everything from local to high-end brands.
Since the last couple of years, brand conscious people who really want to adopt latest styles and fashion; even living in areas such as P.E.C.H.S or Nazimabad, which are closer to Tariq Road and Hyderi prefer going to Park Towers or Forum instead. When asked about this proclivity, Mrs Mohsin, a housewife visiting Park Towers, has this to say; "The primary reason why I prefer coming here is that everything is available under one roof. One doesn't have to go to several different places to get everything one needs."
The trend of malls is on the rise. A big reason for this is the convenience malls offer shoppers.
Secondly, they are covered and therefore are attractive keeping Karachi's unpredictable weather in mind. The biggest incentive is perhaps the play-areas for children and food outlets in the malls. Now children can accompany parents for shopping and can be left comfortably amongst their favourite cartoon characters and fun rides. Moreover, tired and worn out husbands can be enticed with pit-stops at fast food restaurants at the malls to refresh and energize themselves for further bag carrying.
Malls like Park Towers, Forum, Millennium Mall and Dolmen in Karachi have lots of shops, along with huge food courts, especially Forum's Time Out, the double-storied McDonald's at Park Towers, which in itself is a big attraction for people and a pretty decent food court as well. Dolmen Mall too has a terrific food court.
On the other hand if one thinks of Karachi's shopping centres, the first thing that comes to mind is bargaining and congestion. Haphazard parking and squalor are two staples which distinguish shopping centres from malls. The khokhas and food stalls situated in shopping centres sell cheap food items, but at the cost of the health of the people who choose shopping centres as shopping spots. Another factor that is making shopping centres slightly unpalatable is the rising trend of mobile snatching in these areas.
Malls facilitate the shopping experience to a great extent. They actively promote their size with pride and offer a larger variety of merchandise as compared to smaller competitors. "You get better quality and variety, better display of goods and products, a better environment, better facilities like underground parking," says Nabeel, a mall lover, "there are decent toilets, security, and yeah, how can I forget; malls are centrally air-conditioned." His reasons for preferring malls don't end here. "Fixed prices save one from the headache of bargaining," Nabeel continues, "that international and
designer brands are available is great and most of all, shopping is great fun, enjoy it!"
Instead of investing too much time and energy buying cloth, bargaining, getting outfits stitched from a tailor etc., some shopaholics find it far more economical to visit shopping centres. "I can spend a little more time and energy in order to get a cheaper yet satisfactory product. Be it, toys, cosmetics, clothes, whatever," explains Hira Arsalan, who has always preferred shopping centres over malls. "Malls offer the opportunity to window shop, but only people with lots of money to spare can afford to actually shop there," she says.
Asma Siddiqui, a shopper at Gulf Shopping Centre says, "The place is over-crowded with people and the shopkeepers forever make you feel like you're their very first customer of the day, even if you enter the mall 15 minutes before shutdown!" Asma also isn't a fan of bargaining and the din that is characteristic of shopping centres. "There are so many different voices pulling me in different directions," she says, "and bargaining with just one shopkeeper is exhausting! I had come here with the intention to just browse, but the shopkeepers' appeals coaxed me into buying a low-quality product, albeit at a cheap price." By this one can easily make out that the original price which shopping centres quote is an inflated one according to the quality of the product and hence bargainable. The bargaining process itself leaves one's mind and wallet equally drained.
Rabi Centre, Jamia Cloth Market, Hyderi, Aashiana and a few more are the centres which attract shopaholics, especially during the wedding season. These centres offer a huge variety of wedding-wear at considerably lower prices than malls. As Tajwar, a bride-to-be points out, "malls offer designer labels. The same gota work that is done here is available at malls at thrice the price; I intend on getting my wedding outfit from Rabi Centre and party-wear from malls."
Hira, the ardent shopping centre fan also loves the chapals that are available at a mean price at Gulf. "Chapal prices at malls and other shops start at 500 rupees, at 150 rupees, these chapals are great," she says, "they might not last that long, maybe a month, but at the price they come, that is more than enough."
A large number of shoppers desperately want the number of malls to be increased here because of the comfort they provide to shoppers. Farrukh, a visitor at Park Towers, who has come from America, says, "I've been to many malls in America and I haven't really found a huge difference between those and the malls here." There are some differences, he says, "malls there are very big, they have cinemas, clubs, skating rinks and lots more, but the atmosphere is more or less the same; I love visiting malls in Karachi with my friends and just hanging out."
Huma Khan, a working woman shopping at the forum has some misgivings about trendy malls in the city. "Malls have become fashionable of late, when we were kids, I remember shopping at bazaars rather than at malls," she says, "the bazaars offered more variety. There is also this problem in Pakistan of chasing anything that glitters, which may or may not be gold. There is no guarantee of quality, even if one buys things at expensive malls."
There was a time when fashion designers were a novel concept in Pakistan. There was a specific class which turned to designer labels or boutiques for outfits. In the last few years, that has changed. More and more people are more aware of latest trends and want to wear clothes that are in fashion. This is true especially of women who keep up with all the latest fashions and want to look better than best. Designers such as Amir Adnan, Aijazz and Junaid Jamshed have their outlets not just in malls, but other shopping districts too and are in great demand. This highlights the fact that fashion awareness has risen in Pakistanis, who keep up with latest trends and know what looks good.
Fashion awareness has also led to people being brand conscious, or if one is to be very specific, conscious of where they buy an item. The same item bought at Park Towers is somehow more valuable than the one bought at Tariq Road. Despite the fact that shopping centres offer a large variety of brands as well cannot change the perception that the hip malls are better.
In spite of the presence of many designer shops, when going shopping, one still has a tough time deciding where to go. It is not only a matter of brand consciousness, as brands of all qualities are available in Karachi with corresponding prices. Cheap brands are available at malls and centres along with highly expensive brands. Boutiques like Bareeze`, Cynosure, Generation, Deepak Perwani, Exclusive, Ideas, Instyle, Khaadi etc. are situated side by side with economically priced stores.
Shopping can be quite an experience and shopping at a mall or shopping centres both provide experiences of very different kinds. In Karachi, luckily both can be had. Those seeking a comfortable environment with minimum ruckus can venture out to malls for their shopping expeditions, while those looking for fabulous items at competitive prices can brave chaotic shopping centres and districts. Either way, shopping in Karachi is an experience and a half!
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