KOCHI: This unexpected pandemic has definitely changed the world around us. The rocky income has also reduced how much people want to spend, especially when it comes to making investments or starting a new venture. Even buying or renting out a 100 sq ft space to start a business seems unimaginable right now. However, some Kochiites have come up with a unique solution to this problem called co-vendoring.“Not many might have heard of the word,” said Nishant G Tharakan, who has co-founded Street Store, a co-vendoring space at Edapally. According to him, the venture was launched on June 24 and the plot where Street Store is located earlier used be a hotel. “However, they weren’t doing well and were sinking. We knew the owners and they asked us to take over to see if we can turn it around,” he said. But they found it to be less profitable.
“During the lockdown period, we brainstormed and came up with the co-vendoring idea. We had space, and there were people, especially budding entrepreneurs, who had good business ideas but didn’t have enough investment to rent a place to start their ventures,” said Nishant. Street Store slowly took shape, he added.Today, the space has food stalls, home decor stalls and even co-working spaces. “It is an all-inclusive space, where visitors will get to enjoy food,and shop while those wanting space to set up an office can do so by utilising the area they require,” said Nishant. The other co-founder is Renu Abraham.
“Gone are the times when people could rent a huge space to set up their businesses. Entrepreneurs who are into ventures like photography and processed foods don’t need big spaces. They just need an area big enough to showcase their products,” said Nishant. Explaining the Street Store concept, Nishant said, “A co-vendoring space can vary from 600 sqft to 1000 sqft. It caters to mid-cap vendors by providing them with the rack space. Vendors can be from food industry, boutique, home decor, canopy or sales,” he said.
The attraction of co-vendoring is the minimal rentals the entrepreneurs have to pay, he said. “The other positive things are that all the expenses are shared. The vendors don’t have to shell out the staff salary or expenses for the infrastructure all by themselves. Even parking facility is available,” he said. According to Nishant, vendors get free marketing and billing facilities once they set shop in the Street Store. “So far, the store is a success and we plan to set up 10 more such stores in Kochi in two years,” he said.