The Revival Of Retail

There is nothing quite like browsing through a physical store full of curiosities and beautiful things. Is that why we are seeing a resurgence of luxury boutiques?

- Deepali Nandwani

Remember the time when everyone was talking about the death of the stand-alone store? Expensive real estate, especially in the luxury segment, the shifting consumer focus to online retail and new technology threatened the very existence of a luxury boutique store, which, to an entire generation of shoppers, was more than just a mere space to pick up accessories or clothes.

The buzz is that retail never really died; it is reinventing itself in the age of digital disruption. Dilmad Ahmed, CEO, Retail Property Trends, a real estate consultancy firm based in Delhi, says that what is dead is boring retail. “Many stores shut shop in 2017,” he says. “But many opened their doors at the end of 2017 and in early 2018. The ones that have shut shop are the kind that had been sailing in the sea of mediocrity and sameness for a long time.”

Boutique stores are like Aladdin’s caves; you never know what you will find within the treasures they accumulate. We tracked a few stores that have either opened up or reinvented, moved and found new footing over the last few months.