Lulu
Shopping Mall, Kochi
Welcome To The World Of Happiness!!!
By - Lt Col (Retd) D Purushothaman Pillay
The EMKE
Group of the NRI Billionaire, Malayali business tycoon and living legend, M A
Yusuffali, has gifted to Kochi, its biggest landmark, and India's largest (in GLA terms) shopping destination, The Lulu Shopping Mall at Edapally. Sunday, 10th March
2013, will go down as a monumental day in the history of Kochi, when this
sprawling 2.5 million square feet magnificent shopping haven, was inaugurated by
Kerala Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy, in the presence of political
luminaries, invited foreign guests, senior government officials and the
enthusiastic citizens from all over the state.
This engineering marvel, ensconced on the confluence of three of Kerala's major arterial highways viz; NH 17, Kochi Bypass & NH 47; was designed by the world-famous, 75 year old, London-headquartered, leading design, structural engineering and project management consultancy- WS Atkins plc. The Lulu
Group is fabled to have invested a whopping Rs 1600 crores, on this four-tiered
mall, which includes the copious basement parking. The Mall is spread over an area of 17 acres. The Lulu Mall by their own admission, 'is an eclectic ensemble of retail offerings'. It has this grand, translucent-glass roofed atrium that welcomes you in, bathed in a shower of glowing incandescence and glistening opulence on the ground floor, leading to another section of the Hypermarket, which is spread over 278,000 square feet, selling the
choicest groceries, baked items, canned foods, frozen foods, fresh fruits and
vegetables. More importantly, it boasts of 28 check-outs, thereby thoughtfully ensuring, that no one is in a serpentine queue, waiting for long, for billing. There is also an amazing Butchery which offers you the best meat and fish
cuts, money can buy in India. The 145,000 square feet, Lulu Department Store,
on the first floor sells garments, luggage, cosmetics, footwear, white goods
and other non-food items. The Tablez Food Company has earmarked 48,000 square
feet space for a fine dining restaurant and 19,000 square feet for a patisserie
cum coffee shop on the second floor.
The third
floor houses a 28,000 square feet multiple kiosk Sparky's Amusement cum
entertainment zone including a soon to be functional 5000 square feet Ice Rink,
a Computer/Video Games Arcade, 12 lane Bowling Alley and 5D Cinema. In addition this
floor has a 3,500 seat Multi-Cuisine Food Court serviced by 18 kitchens. The
PVR Cinemas Multiplex will soon be exhibiting on 9 screens seating 2,250
viewers, in this mall.
The 360 odd
outlets will boast of many internationally acclaimed brands like Rolex, Rado,
Tommy Hilfiger, Caterpillar, William Penn, Toni & Guy, The Body Shop, Vero
Moda and the like. The world's largest chain of fast food restaurants -
McDonald's has its first outlet in Kerala at this mall. An adjacent 420 room,
premium five-star luxury hotel managed by JW Marriot Hotels, which will also
offer royal suite rooms, besides boasting of a helipad, is under construction
in this complex, and is likely to be completed by the year end.
The
structure is thoughtfully equipped with eighteen pairs of well-positioned
escalators, travelators, elevators and also copious stairways for those who still prefer the old-school perambulation to automated passage, which efficiently ferry visitors seamlessly and without any clutter, to the
various levels. There is adequate car parking facilities for over 3,500 cars.
There are water fountains, toilets and baby-care rooms on all floors. The premises is designed to be friendly for the physically challenged, with designated parking areas and special rest rooms provided on the ground, first and second floors. Wheel chairs are also made available on request on contacting either the Security or the ground floor Information Desk. ATMs belonging to the Federal Bank, Union Bank, SBI & South Indian Bank are available on the ground and first floors, besides Federal Bank is operating a branch on the second floor. Thomas Cook has a Money Exchange and Club Mahindra operates a Travel & Holidays desk. There are two Prayer Rooms, one on the first floor for ladies and the other on the second floor for gents. There is a Baggage Counter near the Hypermarket, besides First Aid and Cab Services, available on request, from the ground floor Information Desk. Great news for the Internet users, Wi-Fi can be accessed everywhere in the mall.
10 March
2013, will be a day Kochi will not forget, for it literally came to a standstill,
with the traffic gridlocked around Edapally, teeming with 3 lac joyous people,
celebrating the arrival of the Pride of Kerala - a shopping extravaganza called
Lulu Shopping Mall. A picture tells a thousand stories I have posted a few taken by
me, for you to feast your eyes on. Come celebrate this new world of happiness!
Timings
:
Lulu Mall -
10 AM to 10 PM
Lulu
Hypermarket – 9 AM to 10 PM
Food &
Cinema – 10 AM to 11 PM
Phones :
Customer
Service – 0484-2727776 (10 AM to 10 PM)
Tel – 0484-2727777
/ 2727700
Fax – 0484-2727772
E-mail – lulukochi@in.lulumea.com / feedback@in.lulumea.com
Website – www.lulushoppingmall.com
Feel happy that I have my house just 4 km away for Lulu Kochi. Having been in Muscat for over 20 years I am used to such conveniences. Hope the Lulu mall becomes a game changer for Kochi and will result in better infrastructural development too. Thanks to Yusuffali MA, who made this possible.
ReplyDeleteYes Manu, Lulu must most certainly be classified as a game-changer which will catalyse infrastructural development around the environment.Mr Yusuff Ali is a rare philanthropic visionary, who has an eye on the future and the power to set the ball rolling on his own, instead of waiting for someone else to chime along. He has set the agenda, hope our public administration will follow the lead and develop Kochi to its promised potential. Now you will get all the things you were so used to, all these years, at your doorstep.
DeleteAt last, one could hope to shop with some sanity, transperancy and under one roof.
ReplyDeleteI hope over time they extend opearting hours to make shopping a pleasureable activity
I feel once the Mall should be completely operational, and the city grows to being something like NYC 'a city that never sleeps', with the smart city employing a growing number of IT professionals who have this curious life where they are working for but living in, different time zones, the hours would take care of themselves by the sheer pressure of the proliferating numbers that will throng these environs, pursuing their share of happiness. Thanks to Mr Yusuff Ali we have such a wondeful one-stop-shop for every need. God bless him!
Delete