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.

5 comments:

Venky said...

I still remember the inauguration day when I and pathik had visited your shop to have a feel of it. We were proud that amongst us one guy has become entrepreneur and moreso had the guts to open a shop in a sensitive place. However the lord has been kind and everything is happening as per his wish. The rare reviews that you have got from media and the compilation of success story in a form of a case study in EC is something to be proud of.

nadeem jafri said...

Thank you Venki for your kind words. I appreciate your encouraging me always. And this well wishes are my guiding light for future. God Bless you!

Hasan Seliya said...

"Because the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer, the business enterprise has two-- and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business." - Peter Drucker.
YOU have hit the nail in the right place, worked hard and GOD showered the results. Although the situation in Juhapura was not encouraging, but as it is said that even a good business can't be successful without courage. YOU showed the courage and it paid off. Now, it is expanding and Insha'Allah it will garner the fruitful results. We are proud of its success.

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot for your encouragement. And may Allah bless you for that always! Aamin

Manzur..ALI said...

Ya of course we are proud to Hearty Mart, actualy my unckle yusufbhai momin - retired highcourt asst registar lives in royal akbar res. flat. When i come their and go return to home in the way i must see Harty Mart shop and proud and can tell to our heart that this shop is of our Nadeem Bawa... You so worked hard for ur buisness and we should learn from u a lot. We pray that Allah will ahead ur buisness and hearty mart will be at our cities.