VELLORE: The State’s first cooperative supermarket, which was established in the Fort City four years ago, has been a huge hit among the people of Vellore. The supermarket generates a revenue of around `55 lakh per month.
The Karpagam cooperative supermarket was established at Anna Salai in year 2010. “It was the first cooperative supermarket in the State, doing wholesale business. It was an instant hit and is running successfully,” said an official in the department.
A 30-year-old software engineer N Prabhu, working in Bangalore, said,”I always prefer this supermarket whenever I come to visit my in-laws’ house, which is located near the Corporation building. Everything we get here is reasonably priced and is also cheaper compared to other supermarkets in the city.”
However, the regular customers say the authorities should add more brands to the shelves to make it one-stop shopping. “We couldn’t get multi-brands and new products, which have hit the market. If they make efforts to stock new products available in the market,it would draw more customers. The officials should also introduce membership cards with discount” said 30 year-old-homemaker P Nithya Jayalakshmi.
“People can buy more products when the price is affordable and here the rate is lesser than the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) as we buy products directly from the manufacturers, not from the retailers. It is the key to the success. We make a business of `6 to `10 lakh in the first week of a month. The supermarket’s monthly turnover is between `53 lakh and `55 lakh,” said an official.
A Dennadayalan, 47, an autodriver, said, “For middleclass and lower middleclass, this supermarket is beneficial, all products are cheaper than in other retail shops and supermarkets.”