RETAIL SITE

“A Comparative Analysis of Three Retail

Locations in Lahore (Packages Mall,
Hafeez Center, M.M Alam Road)”

Abstract
This brief report will qualitatively analyze three
prominent retail location in Lahore i.e. Packages Mall,
Hafeez Center, and M.M Alam Road. The report will
also analyze the feasibility of the three locations with
respect to an electronic outlet.

Shahnawaz Ali
(21110314)
 Ali 1

Location of a retail store is one of the significant and key drivers to push any retail store towards
success. Location has got such a significance in retail bussiness because it is related to the
“customer’s store choice decision”, and holds a substantial strategic importance. Below is the
comparison of three well reputed retail locations in Lahore.

Packages Mall

Packages Mall is one of the well-reputed and prominent shopping malls in Lahore established
according to the international standards and currently operating with 200 diverse brands.
According to the prominent features that Packages Mall exhibits, it should be categorized as an
“Enclosed Shopping Mall”. Being an enclosed shopping mall, it has certain advantages over some
other retail stores. Firstly, it attracts lots of diverse customers and has a large trade area.
Secondly, the presence of restaurants, gaming stations, cinema, etc. also plays a pivotal role in
attracting large number of shoppers. Thirdly, customers never become concerned about the
weather conditions because the enclosed shopping mall provides you a shopping experience free
of fear of bad weather. Fourthly, the huge and artistically designed parking area that Packages
Mall has further makes the shopping of customers more convenient and desirable. Finally yet
importantly, because of its positive and internationally accepted brand image, it has successfully
attracted many “anchor” stores, that are key drivers for increasing the overall pedestrian traffic
in the mall.

As packages mall caters diverse brands, it targets almost all the three types of shopping with
respect to customers i.e. Convenience shopping, Comparison shopping and Specialty shopping.
Although there are few brands that target the Specialty shopping, however there are ample
brands operating at the mall that target the rest of the two types of shoppers.

Besides all these advantages, there are fewer disadvantages as well for the brands, which either
has or intends to open an outlet at the mall. Firstly, the occupancy cost at the mall is higher as
compared to the some other retail locations. Secondly, the outlets within the mall face an
immense competition because of first comparable stores and secondly due to the presence of
certain industry leaders i.e. anchors at the mall. Lastly, all the outlets at the mall has to follow
strict rules and regulations imposed by the management of Packages Mall.
 Ali 2

Hafeez Center

Hafeez Center is the largest electronic and computer market in Pakistan. As it shows a
specialization in only the electronics and computers, it can be categorized as “Specialty Plaza”
retailer. Surrounded by some highly dense roads of Lahore from all the four sides, there is a
massive traffic flow observed at Hafeez center. In addition, the pedestrian traffic at Hafeez
Center is also enormous. It attracts all the three types of customers with respect to their shopping
behavior, thus we can observe a diversity within the customers observed at Hafeez center.
However, the main target customers of maximum number of outlets at Hafeez Center are those
who exhibit Comparison and Specialty shopping behavior. Moreover, it also has a large trade
area, however when compared with Packages Mall, its trade area is quite smaller. Furthermore,
the occupancy cost at Hafeez Center is lower than that at Packages Mall.

The congested parking area, weak management, and small sized outlets has alleviated the
feasibility of the plaza for certain outlets. Another major concern about Hafeez center is its
outdated building and obsolete power distribution system. The recent fire rage due to short
circuit at the plaza caused a loss of millions for both the management of the plaza and the outlets
that were operating there. In addition there is a fierce competition at the Hafeez Center,
however form the perspective of logistic and inventory availability, it provides an edge to the
outlets at the plaza.

M.M Alam Road

M.M Alam Road is one of the busiest roads in Lahore with immense traffic and diverse retail
stores expanded on both sides of the roads. Although, the traffic flow is higher at M.M Alam
road, the pedestrian traffic at the road is lower as compared to Hafeez Center but higher than
Packages Mall. One of the key features of having a retail store at M.M Alam road is that it is free
from the rules and regulation of any management authority like Hafeez Center and Packages
Mall that could impede in the optimal performance of any business outlet. The outlets at the
M.M Alam Raod have limited parking areas that could hinder in convenient shopping of the
 Ali 3

customers. Moreover, we can observe all the three types of customer with respect to their
shopping behavior at the M.M Alam Road.

Which Location is the Most Feasible for an Electronic Outlet?

A quantitative analysis of the three locations to assess its feasibility for the electronic store is
too complex and require ample amount of time, resources and credible data. Therefore, the
three locations would be judged on the basis of some qualitative aspects such as traffic flow,
Accessibility, Visibility, parking, Adjacent Tenants, Restrictions, and Costs associated with the
possession of the retail outlet at the mentioned location. The analysis will be done on the basis
of information provided above about the features and weaknesses of these three retail locations.
In addition, the analysis will also keep in view the strategic fit of the brand with the features of
the retail locations. The following table provides a comprehensive and summarized analysis of
the three retail locations and their feasibility of them for the outlet in terms of the above-
mentioned qualitative aspects:

Packages Mall Hafeez Center M.M Alam Road

Traffic Flow Moderate Highest Minimum
Moderate level of
Accessibility Convenient access Convenient access
difficulty
Visibility Maximum Moderate Minimum
Huge and convenient
Parking Area Moderate but congested Limited parking area
parking area
Adjacent Tenants Moderate Maximum Minimum

Restrictions Maximum Moderate Minimum

Pedestrian Traffic Moderate Maximum moderate

Diversity of Brands Maximum Moderate Minimum

Occupancy Cost Maximum Moderate Minimum

Convenience and Convenience and
Comparison and specialty
Types of shopping comparison comparison
 Ali 4

The main strategic aspect that carries the highest weight regarding the choice of the retail store
is the type of shopping behavior exhibited at the different retail locations, which ultimately
suggests about the target customers. With no doubt, the target customer for the electronic outlet
exhibits a comparison and specialty shopping behavior. According to this aspect, Hafeez Center
seems the most feasible location. Another strategic way of judging the available options is the
occupancy cost. The occupancy cost at Hafeez Center is moderate as compared to the other two
locations. The M.M Alam Road would have the lowest occupancy cost but that conflicts with the
first strategic decision of the target customers because the customers at M.M Alam Road does
not show any specialty shopping behavior regarding the purchase of electronic devices. The other
aspects such as parking area, pedestrian traffic, and accessibility, which according to the analysis
in the table are moderate for Hafeez Center, are secondary to this strategic way of looking at the
available retail options. Another edge of having the outlet at Hafeez Center is the availability of
logistics and inventory due to interlinked connection among all the outlets at the plaza. Although
there is an issue in making your outlet visible at Hafeez Center due to congested and relatively
small sized stores, however that could be eliminated by efficiently using technology and by
creating customer loyalty through your quality services and products. Keeping in view these
analytical results, Hafeez Center is the most feasible location for the electronic outlet.