Saturday, August 22, 2009

Hearty Mart: Faith, Hope and Development



Juhapura has always been in news for all the wrong reasons in the past; a locality which carries a stigma of riot-prone and not conducive for any kind of development. Media-unfriendly area which is always highlighted for notoriety and civil disturbance. Perhaps that is the reason no big brand ever tried entering this area which houses more than 5 lacs of some of the prominent people of the city.

When Hearty Mart was launched in the year 2004, the area was still trying to cope with the tragedy called “Gujarat Riots 2002”. This unfortunate incident saw that many prominent muslims started shifting their base to Juhapura. Suddenly a locality which was never considered to be a family-friendly became a preferred destination for a safe-haven. Still the problem remained as the educated people shifted but the basic amenities were not in place. People had to move to the areas like Paldi, Vasna, and Shyamal etc to serve their needs and wants.

Entry of Hearty Mart in the region came with lots of hope. As it was a store which was equipped to cater to all their basic needs. A store which was positioned as a convenience store and wanted to establish itself as a one-stop-solution for the daily needs of groceries, cosmetics, food grains etc. The residents who had moved from other areas never accepted Juhapura as their locality though they were staying here. Their mindset of the area being down market persisted and this made the initial journey of Hearty Mart much more difficult. Here, we were there to give them all the comfort and convenience and there they were with lots of suspicion and skepticism. They had never thought that an entrepreneur can be successful here. For them, it was a forced decision to stay in such an area.

Our faith in the business eventually helped us gain their confidence. With little bit of promotion and loyalty programs we were successful in having a loyal sets of customers. Hearty Mart also helped the locality indirectly in the following ways:

• Hearty Mart at Vishala Circle is a prominent landmark of Sarkhej-Juhapura road.
• Prices of the flats got escalated and more and more good people opted for the locality
• Success of Hearty Mart encouraged Subhikhsha to set-up shop in Juhapura
• A Private bus-stop has developed just before Hearty Mart.
• More and more residential schemes have developed around Hearty Mart.
• Lots of media coverage of Hearty Mart brand has perhaps inspired a leading restaurant-cum-fastfood joint to open its outlet here.

Today, Vishala Circle is perhaps the best locality for many muslims in Ahmedabad and they are ready to pay premium to have their residence here.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Thank You My Lord!

O My Lord! I thank You for listening to all my prayers. I thank You for ignoring my sins, vices and making me feel so special and cared. I have not communicated with You since last two months vide this blog, and the reason was You were always with me during this turbulent time. You gave me shelter, faith and care.

Today, there is no other demands. You have fulfilled all my desires and have made me special. I know I can never be in a position to thank You for whatever I have gained. Bless my holy prophet and his divine progeny and make me your chosen servant. Make me do all good deeds which You want me to do. Make me complete my mission in this world and when I return to You, I want You to be happy with my deeds, O My Lord The Omnipotent; The Omnipresent!