FLOATING MALLS

triveni superstores ferrIES merchandise to indias isolated areas

By Madhusmita Bora

etting to the store has always been a problem

for people in the Kuttanad archipelago, in the South India state of
Kerala, known for its coconut trees, sandy beaches and vast stretches
of land interlaced with waterways. So now the store is coming to
them. Floating superstores are ferrying food and other commodities
to the isolated consumers living on islands, in waterlogged areas and
along the canals.
Triveni Superstores, a company of floating shops built on mecha-

nized platforms, was launched in the summer of 2009. These stores

are a far cry from the glamorous malls and department stores that have

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become synonymous with the cities in an

economically resurgent India. The floating stores do not carry big brands or stock
luxury items. Instead, the stores provide
some 2,000 essentials, including groceries, toiletries and stationery. But shoppers
can also buy refrigerators, TVs and other
electronics items by booking in advance.
The concept is the brainchild of Riji
G. Nair, managing director of Consumerfed (Kerala State Co-Operative
Consumers Federation). Consumerfed manages Triveni Superstores and
all other government-backed retail cooperative societies in the state, selling
subsidized goods to consumers. Before
Triveni, shoppers living in some of the
backwater areas, along canals and on islands had to travel as far as 15 miles to
stores that sold often substandard goods
at high prices. Many of the residents of
these areas eke out a living in farming or
fishing and have little disposable income
or free time. My aim was to help them
save money and also give them access
to higher-quality goods at cheaper rates
right at their doorstep, Nair told SCT.
Nair initially considered lashing two
fishing boats together with planks and a
roof. Then he chanced upon a floating
cottage, in the district of Alleppey. The

boat may remain docked for anywhere between four and 12 hours, and they return
to the same port roughly once per week.
Sometimes there are queues, with people
taking a number for service. The store can
hold only 20 people at a time, plus the
eight crew members.
Everyone is happy with the unique
shopping experience, said Nair. It
has been especially empowering for
women, who would otherwise need to
rely on their men to ferry them to the
stores, he says.
The glitzy urban malls serve just one
small sector of the population in India,
and you need stores like Triveni to serve
the general populace, said Faith Hope
Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Ellimans retail leasing and sales division. Consolo has been predicting a
floating mall for years.
Target did do a floating temp store
before they opened in East Harlem [New
York], she said. Worldwide, such waterdominated cities as Venice and Bangkok
may have had the occasional boat selling
items, she points out, but Triveni Superstores advances the idea significantly.
Im not seeing anything about floating
chain stores, she said. As far as I know,
this [Triveni] is unique.
SCT

Photo: AJP/Sh uttersto ck.com

The floating stores

stock some 2,000
essentials, including
groceries, toiletries
and stationery.
Shoppers can also
buy electronics by
booking in advance.

vessel belonged to a mechanical engineer

who offered to build a boat to Nairs
specifications. That took six months of research, discussions and searching for the
right contractors. The boat would have
to be made from a noncorrosive material
the designers settled on steel-fiber-laminated ferrocement and built in such
a way that the shelves inside would stay
upright as the vessel bobbed on the water.
Each store cost approximately
$74,000 to manufacture and stock.
These boats, of which there are seven,
are propelled by kerosene-fueled, 40
horsepower Yamaha engines. They
have solar panels to generate power for
the lighting and the cash registers and
communicate with Consumerfed headquarters by Internet. The red-and-white
stores are a hit with consumers and
tourists alike. Consumerfed has plans to
add three new stores by year-end.
The 1,000-square-foot stores sell some
$500 worth of merchandise per day, and
each serves roughly 150 customers daily.
They set off every morning at 8 and replenish their supplies nightly from Consumerfed warehouses. They follow a fixed
calendar, and arrival times are announced
through local media and government
officials. Depending on sales volume, a

Kerala, India

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