Differentiate to Innovate the Future of the Mall

There are several shopping malls opening up in Karachi every month but only some of them are to able penetrate the market and gain popularity among visitors. These include Atrium Mall Saddar, Dolmen Mall Clifton and Port Grand which are buzz of the town and have successfully overtaken previous entertainment places like the Park towers, Area 51 and Arena. There are many malls such as the Emerald Mall Clifton which is striving really hard to attract visitors by marketing different kind of events but the success in Karachi only comes to those who really know how to differentiate.

Lets say Atrium Mall, which apart from having similar facilities such as large food area with renowned brands, has a 3D cinema and the gaming zone which distinguish the Atrium mall from other. Dolmen has its own strategy but the thing that differentiates it from others is the presence of huge Carrefour, the Hyper Star Mart.

Port Grand offers different value as it provides a unique atmosphere with harbor views but the thing which may have impact on its profits could be its entrance fee of Rs. 300/

Malls in Karachi may have to pursue innovative strategies if they want to make themselves a success and buzz of the town. They could even learn from Dubai model by creating different theme malls representing different nations or having a large Aquarium or Ice Skating rink. People here in Karachi have to travel to the hilly areas or Dubai just to enjoy ice.


Another thing they can do is building a large indoor water park inside the mall. Currently all Karachi water parks are very far from the city and one has to wait for a picnic program to have fun in the water. Karachi Malls can introduce this unique element which is currently followed by no other mall in the city to differentiate itself from others.

Today Karachi Malls are filled with all facilities that include famous brands, indoor kids arena, theatre, food court, bowling alley, event spaces, gaming zone and hypermarkets. The introduction of indoor water park would really distinguish your mall and could make it a talk of the town.

A large Underwater world cum Fish Aquarium inside Dolmen Mall, Clifton will make the mall more outclass.

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When Karachi's Clifton Underpass was Submerged with Rain Water

Stabilizing Karachi

Karachi is Pakistan's financial capital and an important entry point for all supplies to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia and also Western China but ongoing violence in Karachi has killed over three hundred people last month alone said BBC.

"What Karachi needs is the certainty of rule of law, so that investors have confidence in setting up businesses" said Musharraf Zaidi a Pakistani Columnist to Council on Foreign Relations. He recommends a well-resourced and trained police force, which includes a robust intelligence infrastructure and an effective criminal justice system (Magistrate Courts).

Karachi presents all the tremendous opportunities that are available to Pakistan as a country with a huge population, a huge youth bulge, and a reasonable tradition of enterprising and innovative businessmen. Most of the innovation in the country in terms of the economy comes from Karachi. All of those opportunities need a conducive environment for Pakistan to shift out of its current phase out of instability.

The city of Karachi needs to find a way of making sure to people all across the globe that it's a place that's not just safe, but that nurtures highly skilled young people.

Karachi suffers because of Pakistan's reputation, and Pakistan's reputation suffers because of its leadership. The only thing International Community could do is to encourage Pakistan make Karachi a safer place so that global finance and international capital can move in and out of Karachi more freely than it does currently.

Read the complete article on Council on Foreign Relations website: http://www.cfr.org/pakistan/stabilizing-karachi/p25645

Chinese Bank Opens in Karachi

China's banking giant,the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)has opened its branches in Karachi and Islamabad, Xinhua reported.

Recently ICBC has opened five new branches in major European capitals - in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Madrid and Milan. The banking giant already has branches in Moscow, London, Frankfurt and Luxembourg

Addressing the inaugural ceremony in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan's Pres. Zardari said that the ICBC initiative to open branches in the country would begin a new era of cooperation in the banking sector of the two countries.

“The opening of ICBC branches, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, will take the economic relations between the two countries to new heights,” Zardari said.

The president hoped the ICBC’s investment in the country would prove to be profitable and that the bank would play a prominent role in channeling bilateral investments.

Aqeel Karim Dhedhi

Economists Against Oil & Petrol Price Hike

Group of emerging economists held a meeting in Karachi. They all come up with one decision, all seriously opposed the government move to increase oil prices in Pakistan at this time.

The Price Hike has already sparked an outcry from the political groups across the country but now the leading economists and business persons are speaking up against this move by the government for the first time.

"This hike is dangerous for Pakistani Rupee and the Economy" Zeeshan V, an emerging economist said in the meeting. "Fulfilling expenditures through central bank borrowing and not raising the oil prices has created a kind of equilibrium in the economy which was forcing Pakistani rupee not to go down despite heavy central bank borrowing, but now this would be reversible and would force Rupee to go down versus other currencies as oil price hike would force other commodities to rise" he added.

The country is already in economic turmoil as Pakistan Peoples Party government has failed to recover the economic cycle. Late last year, they have nearly lost its majority in parliament as allies threatened to leave the coalition amid oil price hike.

The ruling party backed off on the increase to save the coalition, upsetting international lenders whose billions are keeping the country's economy afloat.

It’s the Economy!! Stupid

The above title is the mostly used quote in US, spoken for the first time by former president Bill Clinton who accused Sr. Pres Bush for taking economic issues lightly. And still over a decade on, US economy is in doldrums where companies are laying off their staff to focus on their core business at times when the economy is in recession.

One of these companies is Yahoo which has recently announced that it will spoof off its staff to cut down on its expenses and it will also close down eight of its services including its popular social networking site Delicious. Yahoo has recently closed its Briefcase and Geocities services. But Yahoo in later statements denied the closure of ‘delicious’.

Other US companies that collapsed last year include A&P a grocery chain with 1400 outlets in East Coast, Affiliated media which couldn’t survive due to ever growing influence of the internet, Ambac The main subsidiary of this bond insurer sold protection on mortgage-backed securities, American Media etc

After Lehman Brothers, Circuit City, General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies, the near failures of AIG and Citigroup seem like a year of convalescence for the global economy.