E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, SEP 22 -

Dashain is the time when Nepalis shop like there's no tomorrow. And this is the reason retailers come up with discount and gift schemes to cash in on the annual buying frenzy.

Kathmandu's leading shopping malls too have joined the festive scheme bandwagon with exciting offers, discounts and bumper prizes.

While old and established malls have not launched schemes this time as they did in previous years, new malls have been more enthusiastic. One of them is Civil Mall at Sundhara. One of the newest malls in the city, Civil Mall has come up with a scheme called "Tata Vista Civil Mall Dashain and Tihar Malamal Festival". The offer which will last till Oct 26 guarantees a free 300 ml Pepsi bottle with purchase worth Rs 1,000 and more. Likewise, there are mobile handsets, home appliances and cash vouchers worth Rs 10,000, Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,000 to be won through a lucky draw every week.

On the day of Ghatasthapana, one customer will win a free trip to Dubai through a lucky draw. As the bumper prize, there is a Tata Vista car which will be unveiled on the day of Laxmi Puja. "With fierce competition among the malls, we have launched schemes to add value to the money spent by customers," said Nishant Shrestha, marketing head of Civil Mall.

Likewise, Civil Mall is conducting a live concert featuring famous Nepali singers and bands every Saturday. "We are also planning special events at the Central Food Court and Bal Sansar," Shrestha said. He added that stores at the mall were offering discounts of up to 40 percent.

Even though the City Centre management has not launched any schemes so far, retailers at the mall are offering discounts of up to 50 percent. "The mall management has not thought about schemes so far. But retailers have come up with discount offers of up to 50 percent in their respective stores," said Rajesh Lamichhane, chief general manager of City Centre.

Likewise, Kathmandu Mall, which recently concluded the Dashain Big Sale offer ensuring discounts of up to 50 percent, is currently working with the retailers at the mall to come up with a new scheme. "As of now, there is a discount offer ranging from 20-25 percent," said Keshab Prasad Sapkota, manager of the mall.  

Compared to last Dashain when it had bumper schemes, United World Trade Centre (UWTC) at Tripureshwor is giving discounts of up to 20 percent this time. "As the mall has been converted into a fixed price mall, we could not come up with big schemes," said Shankar Lamichhane, president of the UWTC Business Association.            

Even though malls have been seeing greater footfall in recent times, the owners said the festive mood in the market was yet to pick up due to recent rains and Sora Saraadh. The hope to see more business due to discount offers and schemes as Dashain approaches.

City Centre is expecting a two-fold growth in sales during Dashain. In the case of Civil Mall, its scheme has already started making an impact with daily footfall increasing to more than 10,000.

Posted on: 2011-09-22 09:19

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.
* Full Name
* Address
* Email Address
* Comment
* Captcha	Get another CAPTCHA code
Note:	Comments containing abusive words or slander shall not be published.