Several malls and retailers downed shutters in the commercial capital city of Mumbai following terrorist attacks, which claimed more than 100 lives and left over 250 injured.
Fear stricken shoppers remained indoors as the military commandos continued to battle terrorists holed up in two of the key luxury hotels in southern Mumbai.
“There are terrorists with motives out there on the streets and attacking at will. It is a risk for anybody to venture outside,’’ said Gagan Banga, CEO, Indiabulls Financial Services.
Stores in many sensitive areas of the city including in Colaba, Nariman Point, Dadar, Parel, Vile Parle among others remained shut even as police issued advisories on the same, retailers and shopkeepers said.
Kishore Biyani's hypermarket chain Big Bazaar closed two stores its stores in Mumbai Central and Parel, which are half-an-hour's drive from South Mumbai.
“There will be some business loss but it can be covered up later. We are in touch with police and closed our stores in some areas on their guidance,” said Rajan Malhotra, chief executive of Big Bazaar.
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Provogue, an apparel retailer closed nearly 12 of its 17 stores in Mumbai and it expects a business loss of around Rs 45 lakh due to this. “No one is turning up at the stores. Even in those stores which are open today the employees want to go back to their homes,” said Nikhil Chaturvedi, managing director of Provogue.
Sentiments among consumers remained subdued and fear-driven as television channels continued to flash images of the ongoing battle between the terrorists and commandos. Adds The MobileStore, CEO, Rajiv Agarwal: “There are absolutely no customers and business is zero. As long as television channels show the horror news, people will not come out of their homes.’’
“We have closed our stores as we do not want to take any chances with the lives of our staff and customers. Shopping is the last thing on people’s mind,'” said Tarun Joshi, MD, Brandhouse Retails.