Shopping in Kolkata
Shopping Malls in Kolkata
- Charnock City Mall: Charnock City was established in 1997 and is owned by K.B Sales Ltd, a public limited company. This huge building comprising nine floors & is located in Kolkata's satellite city, Salt Lake. Charnock City is one of the most frequented shopping Mall in Kolkata. This retail Mall is famous for its availability of everything under one roof. One may notice garments, leather goods, house hold articles, electronics, books, etc. devoted on each floor separately. First floor exhibits a supermarket which sells grocery, confectionery, food and beverages, meat, fish, detergents etc. The second floor of the Mall is completely dedicated to the household items like bags, chairs, tables, pressure cookers, plastic products, steel utensils, glass materials etc. Men can find their way on the third floor of the Mall with garments, cosmetics, sunglasses, kids wear and all other things related to gents. Fourth floor of the Mall displays all types of leather goods, products such as belts, wallets, jackets, bags, trousers made of big brands like Adidas, Liberty, Bata etc. Most crowded of all is the fifth floor of the shopping Mall which hosts the ladies section in garments, cosmetics, accessories, kids wear etc. Regular exhibitions and parties can be organized on the seventh floor and the favorite place of the people in the Mall is the top floor of the building comprising of food court and bar cum lounge
- Forum Mall: Forum Mall was developed by the Forum Projects Pvt. Ltd and got operational in 2003. This Mall is a popular family hangout in Kolkata, located in the heart of the city at the Elgin Road. The location of the Mall attracts the central and the southern residents of Kolkata who desire to spend quality time in the Mall. The USP of the shopping Mall is its blend of entertainment, Retail and food & beverages options, which delivers a pleasant experience to its visitors. Shopper’s Stop and Inox being the anchor tenants of the Mall contributes to the richness of the Mall in a great way. Other major brands that can be seen here are Pepe jeans, Satya Paul, Ritu Kumar, Levi's, Adidas, Provogue, Nike, Reebok, Police, Hidesign, Music world , United Colors of Benetton. Forum also has a four screen multiplex called Inox with a capacity of 1015 seats which features latest flicks. The food court offers a great range of multi-cuisine restaurants. Some of the special restaurants of the Mall are Oh! Calcutta, Burp, Star Struck, Mc Cain, Biscotti, Baskin Robbins. Footfall that can be noticed in the Mall on weekdays is around 12,000-15,000 and it goes over 20,000 on the weekends.
- Metro Plaza Mall: The Metro Plaza is situated in Ho Chi Sarani, Maidan, next to the Tata Centre. This three storied building displays around 260 stores with a variety in all types of apparels, accessories, textiles, footwear, perfumes etc. Some of the major brands available here are Hira Panna, Bata shoes store, The City Walk, Payal Collection, Subham, Space and Fancy Stores. An amusement centre, beauty salon (my fair lady) and a traditional Indian sweet shop present in the Mall are other key features of the Mall. Metro Plaza remains shut on Mondays and Tuesdays. The Mall surroundings are well maintained with a lot of greenery and fountains. The arcade delivers on an exciting and perfect shopping experience in Kolkata.
- The Gariahaat Mall: Garihaat Mall is developed by Toplight Commercials Ltd. and got operational in August 2005. It is located at the Jamir lane of Kolkata near Bijan Setu. Garihat Mall is the first Mall established in the area of Garihaat with all the modern facilities and amenities divided in five floors. This Kolkata shopping Mall was established in order to serve the day to day need of the middle class and upper middle class consumers. The food court on the fifth floor occupies large part of space with 10 counters catering Chinese, north Indian, Bengali and south Indian cuisines. Corn n Kebab on the same floor is a multi-cuisine resto bar which gives a classy touch. Westside and C3 are the anchor tenants of the Mall. Music freaks and dance lovers can also enjoy themselves at the Octane Lounge and bar which opens everyday late in the evening. The approximate visitor footfalls on the weekdays is around 2,500-3,000 and it exceeds 6,000 on the weekends.
- Shree Ram Arcade Mall: Shree Ram arcade is one of the most recent supermarkets in Kolkata. It is located opposite to Lighthouse Cinema on Jawaharlal Nehru Road, in Dharamtala. Over 275 retail outlets are spread in this four storied complex delivering all types apparels from purely Indian to wild and wacky western, indo-western, costume jewellery, books, CD's, tapes, books, footwear, accessories, gift items etc. The Mall also offers a great variety in the traditional or ethnic clothes like ghagra cholis and salwaar kameez. Shree Ram arcade remains closed on Sundays and is available from 10am to 8 pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays and 1 pm to 8 pm on Mondays. Shree ram arcade is a modern and a well established centre which acts a major comfort zone for the shopaholics and window shoppers.
- South City Mall: South city Mall is located at one of the posh areas of the Kolkata, Prince Anwar Shah Road, opposite to Jodhpur Park. The shopping centre is established international standards keeping in mind the modern mindset and ambitious lifestyle of the people. The stores inside the shopping Mall are placed synergistically and promise to change the shopping style and perception of Kolkata. A large part of the Mall space is devoted to anchor stores: Pantaloons, Giant, Shopper's stop and Fame cinemas. Along with this, other retail chains like Wills Lifestyle, Kittens, Titan, Samsonite, Reebok, Adidas, Levi’s, Pepe jeans, zodiac and Park Avenue have made a commendable job in attracting the crowd towards the Mall. The fabulous landscaping and a multi level car parking ensures a large footfall. The combination of shopping and fine dining at the food court certainly makes the place a shopper's paradise.
- Vardaan Mall: Vardaan is three levelled shopping centre in Kolkata, situated on Camac Street. Small shops and stalls lines up the Mall. The complex offers an end number range in bags, imported cosmetics, branded and unbranded clothes, household goods, music stores, designer wear, accessories, lingerie, footwear etc. The Mall does not have an exact food court but certainly offers a great variety on small snack counters. There are numerous street food stalls where vendors sell jhal muri, bhel puri, puchkas and battrish bhaja right outside on a pavement which gives a real Kolkata feel. These stall owners set up stalls after 2 pm everyday and probably attracts more crowd than the Mall itself. The arcade is available from 11:30 am- 7 pm on Sundays to Wednesdays and on Fridays shops open after 2 pm. The entire market remains closed on Thursday.
- Treasure Island Mall: Treasure Island is a centrally air conditioned shopping Mall in Kolkata, located opposite to Globe Cinema Hall, close to Shree Ram arcade. Although, the shopping complex renders a variety of imported cosmetics, lingerie, jewellery, music stores, leather goods, novelty items, children hosiery etc, the garment section still dominates this three storied complex. Apparels occupy most of the space available and have classy shops for ethnic and western wear. The music store; Rhythm attracts crowds for its latest collection of music and CD's. The complex is open all days of the week except Sundays where the Mall runs from 10 am to 8 pm from Tuesday to Saturday and shops open after 1 pm on Mondays.
- City Centre Mall: City Centre is amongst the biggest Mall in Kolkata, established in 2004 in a very popular area of Kolkata, Salt Lake. The Mall represents a unique combination of shopping, food court, entertainment, offices and much more. City Centre might not give that giant appearance but it houses a multiplex; Inox with a capacity of 1100 seats and over 250 retail outlets of both national and international brands spread over seven floors. Each sector serves the need of the customer of all age groups and income. The Mall does not focus on one particular segment but it is a complex for all. From a normal tea junction to cafe coffee day, from a branded retail outlet to the unbranded competitors, the Mall houses all. Some of the leading retail outlets to name are Kookie jar (best pastry shop of the city), Saakshi(offers a great variety of artificial jewellery at the most affordable prices), A N John(hair salon) , Dare to Wear(provides you with the most latest and trendy outfit). The USP of the Mall is it provides with fashion, hangout zone, fast food, movie and entertainment, shopping everything under one roof and renders a world class shopping experience.
Local Shopping Markets in Kolkata
- New Market: New market, a recent name given to the Sir Stuart Hogg Market, was established in 1800s. It is one of the oldest shopping hubs of Kolkata located on the Lindsay Street. Over two thousand shops are scattered in seven blocks from A to G. The C block and certain parts of block D have been burnt by a fire struck few years back. Everything from readymade clothes to footwear, accessories to food, flowers to fabric, shiny plastic clips to faux crystal ware, toys to luggage, crockery to candles, swimwear to uniform is available here at an unbeatable price. Your trip might be incomplete without the visit to new market but make sure you do not visit the place on Sunday, when the market is closed. It is an ideal place for the bargain hunters and bargaining here is considered as a norm. New market renders a complete and an exciting shopping experience.
- Dakshinapan Shopping Complex: Dakshinapan is to Kolkata what Dilli Haat means to Delhi. It is one if the oldest markets of Kolkata located on the southern corner of the city. Dakshinapan is an open air shopping complex spread over two levels with a vast courtyard in the centre. The arcade houses most of the state government outlets trading handlooms and handicraft products. Apart from this, there are numerous privately owned shops of Indian ethnic wear, footwear, and dress materials at the most reasonable price. Bargaining here can be a slight problem as the shopkeepers already keep a reasonable fixed price. The place certainly is a women's shopper paradise as it offers a humongous range of saris like Jaipur Silk, Synthetic, Kora Silk, Kota, Bandhni etc and not to skip here the traditional salwar kameez. The complex also comprises couple of hygienic food stalls where one may relax and have a bite after long hours of shopping. Dakshinapan remains closed on Sundays where as a lot of crowd can be witnessed on Mondays after 2 pm. This is one hot spot for the college students because they can shop for latest and trendy fashion within their limited budget and grab their favorite meal at the same time.
- Fancy Market: Fancy market is situated on the Karl Marx Sarani in Kidderpore. This convenience store market is divided into three floors and is quite popular for the smuggled foreign/international goods. It delivers you a large variety in glassware, clothes, electronics, perfumes, cassettes, crystal ware, CD's, cosmetics etc. Also available are the canned food products and imported chocolates. This range of goods is brought to India through couriers from Bangkok, Singapore, China and Hong Kong. Fancy market may give you a large variety of products at a throw away price but the quality is always doubtful, especially of the high priced electronic items. Shopkeepers do not provide you with any paper to guarantee the authenticity of the goods, so one has to be cautious while shopping. The price of the products here are always negotiable and you may land up with a cool deal if you posses great bargaining skills. So we can certainly say that the fancy products at fancy price are available only at the fancy market.
- AC Market: AC Market, located on the Theatre road is one of the best markets in Kolkata for the bargain hunters to get away from the heat on the streets. As the name suggests, an icy blast hits you as soon as you enter this building of floor floors. It is a smaller market as compared to the new market and may not offer you with the mind blogging range of products as new market does. AC market has its own charm delivering a substantial range in clothes, electronic household gadgets, shoes, accessories, lingerie, audio and video cassettes, CD's etc. You may also notice a variety of cheap Chinese products to the most expensive stores like Levi's, Nike. Omega and Sony in the market. Do not run away from the 'fixed-price' tags on the products because the market offers you with heavy discount and bargains. It is a one stop destination which offers foreign goods at incredible rates. The AC market has redefined the entire idea and style of shopping in Kolkata.
