Reliance Fresh, Koramangala, Bangalore, India

A consumer review

I had seen the building swathed in scaffolding and canvas, showing small glimpses of the colourful board that said Reliance Fresh. Techies and professionals in Bangalore are routinely wooed by some of the biggest and the best brands and retail majors from India and abroad, but the wait for our home-grown retail biggie was long.

I had heard and read about the store at Hyderabad and was eager to check out the Bangalore edition. I had my own black thoughts about shopping at the swank fresh produce mart, blame it part on my slightly socialistic leanings (big business swallowing small fry is strictly no-no) and part on this tendency to side with the underdog (those poor hawkers at Madiwala, the local sabzi mandi, barely make enough for a couple of meals for the family, and so on)

So there we were on day 2, to stock up on veggies for the week. The products looked fresh, the prices looked better; and the staff was extremely helpful. It was the staff that caught my attention and held it – the sight of young girls and boys wearing their red and green uniforms proudly, and bustling about helping patrons weigh their purchases or chalk up the bill on hi-tech touch screens was gratifying.

The store was well organized, but could do with some more space. I was reminded of the peak hour rush at a suburban railway station in Mumbai, mercifully sans the odour. One could argue that the rush was on account of novelty and curiosity. But I am not betting on it dwindling down – not with those prices, and certainly not with the accessibility the store offered. So a trip during the weekend is avoidable. I wonder why the firm hadn’t planned for a bigger area.

I returned home with my bags and the satisfaction of having struck a bargain. What really felt good was the chance to see, firsthand, the jobs that the retail boom would create. That quietened and mollified my belligerent conscience – just about.

Report from: Usha Ganesh