A store in Varanasi has rebranded itself as Corona Mall and is offering every possible product for protection against COVID-19. “I got the idea on my own. In business, if you don’t keep ahead and anticipate trends, you will be swept aside," says the store's owner Ashok Gogia.
The 11-year-old store in Varanasi’s Sigra area was originally called Chotta (small) Mall. After the rebranding, it now sells everything from masks and sanitisers to face shields and fog machines.
Since the Chotta Mall was originally a store selling fashion goods, it has retained its style streak for these new products as well. Thus, its stock of masks includes those with cartoon characters, dragons, skulls, saree prints and even photos of buyers.
Gogia admits that not all of these would provide the required level of protection. “Masks have become a kind of fashion statement, too. We make it a point to tell customers which mask will do what. Our most stylish masks are for Rs 300 a piece, but these will become useless if dipped in water,” he says.
Gogia has studied only till class three and describes himself as "more practical than theoretical". This penchant for the practical translated into him teaming up with two engineering students to design a sanitation tunnel. “The cheapest sanitation tunnel comes for Rs 36,000, but ours is for Rs 11,000," he says.
When the opening of shops was first allowed partially during the lockdown, Gogia’s 250-square feet store, which had an average customer footfall of 100 in a day, was deserted. There were three employees to be taken care of and rent to be paid, so the store quickly re-oriented its sale inventory. The initial lot of masks was made by women weavers and artisans of which there are many in Varanasi, a city best known for its rich Benarasi silk weaves.
But it is not all just about business. Gogia says that he routinely hands out surgical masks free of cost to those who cannot afford them—rickshaw pullers, slum dwellers, labourers and the like. “No one wants to ask for something this small so when someone does, I know that he really needs it," says Gogia.
Stocking up on COVID-19 essentials meant that the store was deemed as providing essential services and thus permitted to operate without the restrictions imposed on other stores.
Gogia does not see a quick return to the fashion products he was earlier selling. “Many of my items are Chinese and the sentiment is against the country. However, most of the public is willing to cooperate, these items will still be in demand till we do not start manufacturing them in the country. Borders cannot be managed till manufacturing and small businesses are supported," he says.
Gogia says the store, though not earning profits, is managing to meet costs, which is more than what can be said for most small businesses currently.
The man, who named his small store a 'mall' as he wanted people to re-imagine what a mall could look like, has already figured out what to sell next. “With the Bihar elections due, we will now make scarves, gamchas, caps and even masks with the faces of political leaders," he says.
