Press Releases

MARG Junction Mall announces signing up of Shoppers Stop, PVR Cinemas and Hyper City as their Mall Anchors

Chennai, March 16, 2011: MARG Junction Mall, the upcoming Mall at the IT corridor at OMR announced a strategic association with some of the leading brands in the country. The mall which is scheduled to be operational in the first quarter of FY 2012-13, has partnered with PVR Cinemas, Shoppers Stop and HyperCITY to provide the best-in-class value to the Chennai customers.

The tie-ups were announced at the presence Mr. GRK Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director, MARG Ltd, Mr. Pramod Arora, Group President, PVR Ltd., Mr. Govind Srikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd. and Mr. Mark Ashman, CEO, HyperCITY Retail (I) Ltd.

MARG Junction Mall will fulfill the entertainment needs of a sprawling IT corridor and South Chennai by providing the best in 'comfort & convenience' shopping and entertainment experience.

Announcing these partnerships, Mr. GRK Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, MARG Ltd. said, "It is a privilege to be associated with leading brands like PVR, Shoppers' Stop and HyperCITY. Through MARG Junction Mall, we propose not only to offer best-in-class entertainment and shopping experience but also to develop a social asset that will give a fillip to organized retail. This is a mall which will have interest areas for all sections of the society and age groups. The MARG Junction mall epitomizes the theme of India and the family values therein."

Going the eco-friendly way, MARG Junction Mall is developed and designed on the Green Building concept. Located on the banks of a perennial water body, MARG Junction is a unique destination that has a rare mix of natural ambience and aesthetic design to draw people across different age groups.

MARG Junction Mall, spread over 1.83 million sq. ft. is Chennai's largest 'mixed use' development consisting of a 1 million sq. ft. mall, International business class hotel with serviced apartments and 1,64,000 sq. ft. Office Towers. Among other facilities, there would be atrium spaces stretching over an area of 24,000 sq. ft., a gaming zone, 900 seater food court, five fine dining restaurants, parking space for 1300 four wheelers and 1800 two wheelers, 18 escalators ,23 high speed lifts and 6 travelators for superior circulation.

OMR renowned for IT and ITeS companies and touted as the IT corridor of Chennai, has witnessed drastic changes in the recent past. 1,50,000 people are employed in this stretch and another 2,50,000 will be employed in the next two years. Despite the rapid growth, OMR is still underdeveloped in social infrastructure. The absence of high quality destinations such as malls and multiplexes is making people visit entertainment zones located miles away. MARG Junction Mall is set to fulfill this gap. The mall offers retailers an enormous opportunity to enhance the lifestyle of this modern community by providing a world class shopping, eat outs and entertainment environment.

Commenting on the tie-up, Pramod Arora, Group President, PVR Ltd said, "We have observed through our years of experience that the Southern part of India holds extreme potential for the entertainment business. Through MARG Junction Mall we have been provided with an excellent opportunity for our 2nd multiplex in Chennai but with a first-of-its kind Premiere facility here. Being the only mall available in South Chennai and also with its unique characteristics, MARG Junction Mall will attract many customers."

Speaking on the association, Mr. Govind Srikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd. said, "Being the pioneers of modern retail in India, it has been our constant aim to scale new heights and continuously modernize retail. With spacious interiors and a prolific variety of brands, we are certain that our customers will be delighted to have an additional fashion landmark in Chennai. We firmly believe that the new store will not only meet, but will exceed all aspirations of our esteemed customers. We enjoy a large base of our loyalty programme, First Citizen, members in Chennai. We are extremely delighted to be a part of MARG Junction Mall. This new store will cater as a convenient fashion destination for our loyalty programme members who reside in the catchment"

Mark Ashman, CEO, HyperCITY Retail (I) Ltd., complimented the CMD-MARG group for spearheading a world class and unique shopping environment in Chennai. He also expressed, "That HyperCITY is pleased to join hands with CMD-MARG, for the launch of HyperCITY. This significant development marks HyperCITY's foray into Chennai, with the commitment to provide consumers an authentic hypermarket experience. HyperCITY is India's finest hypermarket, where customers can shop in comfort in a large, modern, & exciting environment. It offers a wide and contemporary range of innovative products across Food, Home ware, Home Entertainment, Hi-Tech, Appliances, Furniture, Sports, Toys & Fashion at great prices. HyperCITY has been conferred with both national and international awards for design and format, it was voted "Top 100 shops you must visit" by Retail week, UK."

Apart from the anchors, MARG Junction has signed up small format stores like Ray Ban, HP (Hewlett Packard), Eva, Riyaa and restaurants like Marry Brown. The mall has also obtained EOI's from leading Indian & International brands like Levis, Adidas, Reebok, Madura Garments & Arvind Brands. In line with the strategy of having a strong 'Chennai DNA' for the mall, MARG Junction is close to signing up retail space with 2 big Chennai-based brands

ABOUT MARG LIMITED

MARG Limited (BSE: 530543), incorporated in 1994 and headquartered in Chennai, is an infrastructure, real estate development and services company. The Company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and its shares are traded on the NSE under the category of 'Permitted Security'. MARG's businesses are organized under 4 distinct business verticals – Marine Infrastructure & Services, Urban & Industrial Infrastructure, EPC and Real Estate. MARG is strategically developing Greenfield ports on the Eastern Coast of India. The Karaikal Port is currently operational with a capacity of 5.2 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum) and phased expansion is underway to eventually scale up to 47 MMTPA. The Company has also been awarded a contract to develop a Minor Port cum Ship Repair Yard at Mugaiyur.. MARG Swarnabhoomi, the Company's flagship project in Urban & Industrial Infrastructure, is being developed as an inclusive city based on the principles of New Urbanism, with unique offerings for Education, Research & innovation. The Company's EPC division provides integrated turnkey solutions for Greenfield and Brownfield projects. MARG's Residential Real Estate business, under the umbrella brand MARG ProperTies, offers homes across multiple segments with focus on affordable housing. Malls, IT Parks and Office Spaces constitute the Company's Commercial Real Estate business. MARG is also expanding its sectoral presence with Airport projects in Bellary and Bijapur and a Multi-Level Car Park (MLCP) in Chennai.

The Company, currently employing over 1100 people, is ISO 9001: 2008 certified for carrying out activities in planning and development of commercial, residential and turnkey projects. MARG Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries have offices in India, China and Singapore.

More information on MARG is available on http://www.marggroup.com

ABOUT PVR GROUP

PVR Group is among India's leading integrated media & entertainment players with a significant presence in film entertainment and retail entertainment landscape. Regarded as the pioneers of the multiplex revolution in India, currently, PVR's cinemas serve an aggregate of more than 17.5 million patrons annually. It operates a geographically diverse cinema circuit of 136 screens with presence in 18 cities across India. PVR Pictures is the flagship film production and distribution arm of PVR Group and has built an impressive film slate in Hindi & English, which it markets and distributes. PVR Pictures made an enormously successful film production debut in 2007 with 'Taare Zameen Par' & 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' and has continued to build on its creative leadership in film industry, since then. After the stylish movie 'Aisha' with Sonam Kapoor & Abhay Deol, its current year production slate includes 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se' (Abhishek Bachchan & Deepika Padukone) with Ashutosh Gowariker Productions Pvt. Ltd & 'Mad Madder Maddest' with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Productions. Some of the acclaimed foreign titles including world cinema distributed by PVR Pictures include the Twilight franchise ( Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse), Step Up 3D, Single Man, Remember Me, Astroboy, Death at a Funeral, Paris Je' Taime, Dan in Real Life, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Strangers, Kill Bill, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Golden Palm award winning 'Blindness' and 'What Just Happened' along with Brad Pitt-George Clooney starrer 'Burn After Reading.

ABOUT SHOPPERS STOP:

Shoppers Stop is a leader in the Indian Retail Sector and one of the pioneers in setting up large format department stores chain in India. Shopper's Stop Ltd has a national presence, with over 2.05 million square feet area across 34 stores in 15 cities viz. Mumbai (8 stores), Delhi (4 stores), Kolkata (3 stores), Bangalore (4 stores), Hyderabad (3 stores), Jaipur (2 stores), Pune (2 stores), Gurgaon, Chennai, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Noida, Amritsar, Bhopal and Aurangabad.

Shoppers Stop is the only Indian member of IGDS (Intercontinental Group of Departmental stores) along with 29 other experienced retailers from all over the world. Mr. B.S. Nagesh, Customer Care Associate & Vice Chairman, Shopper's Stop Ltd, has been recognised as an iconic retailer and was inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame 2008. Mr. Nagesh is the only Indian retailer to take a significant place alongside more than 100 stalwarts of the global retail industry, which includes veterans like Sam Walton of Wal-Mart, Giorgio Armani, Jack Cohen of Tesco, Simon Marks and Israel Sieff of Marks & Spencer; Ingvar Kamprad of Ikea, amongst others. CMAI felicitated the 'Golden Scale Trophy' to Mr. Nagesh in honour of this achievement.

Mr. Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shopper's Stop Ltd received prestigious honours of the 'Retail Professional of the Year' by CMAI in 2009 & 'Most Admired Fashion Retail Professional' at the Images Fashion Awards 2010.

Images Retail Awards consecutively for three years (2008, 2009 & 2010) named Shoppers Stop the 'Most Admired Retailer of the Year –CRM', Shoppers Stop was also named the 'Most Admired Department Store chain at the IRF 2010 award ceremony. The Company has also been felicitated with 'Retailer of the Year –Fashion & Lifestyle' at the Asia Retail Congress in 2009. Shopper's Stop Ltd also received the 'Best Visual Merchandising' Award at the VMRD Retail Design Awards 2009 and the 'Prestigious Loyalty' award for Customer & Brand loyalty in the 'Retail Sector' 2010 at the 3rd Loyalty Summit. Shopper's Stop Ltd has been awarded by CMAI -The 'Golden Scale Trophy' as the 'Brand of the Year' for its STOP Ladies ethnic wear in 2008 & 2009, and the 'Marketing Campaign of the Year' in 2009. Images Fashion Awards held in 2009 recognised Shoppers Stop as 'The Most Admired Fashion Retail Destination of the Year' and in 2010 'Most Admired Large Format Retailer' award by Gini & Jony and the 'Most Admired Partner' by Gili.

Shoppers Stop has also introduced new formats in the market viz HomeStop – the exclusive home furnishings, décor as well as furniture store and HyperCity– a premium shopping destination for Foods, Homeware, Home Entertainment, Hi-Tech Appliances, Furniture, Sports, Toys & Fashion.

ABOUT HYPERCITY RETAIL(I) Ltd:

HyperCITY Retail (India) Ltd. is part of the K. Raheja Corp. Group, a leader in the Indian retail sector. K Raheja Corp helped create retail boom in India with Shoppers Stop, InOrbit Mall and Crossword apart from their successes in realty and hospitality.

It is a hypermarket in the true sense and offers its customers a dominating assortment of quality products at great value in a large, modern and exciting format. It launched its first store in Malad, Mumbai, which is spread over 1,20,000 sq ft. Since its launch, it has had several milestones to its credit. It is the first to open hypermarket (1,00,000 sq ft) in India, HyperCITY, Malad was named as one of the "Top 100 Must Visit Stores" in the world by UK's Retail Week Magazine, it won the Large Format Specialty Store Award at U.S. International Design Awards, New York.

Till date, HyperCITY has 8 stores operational across 6 cities viz. Mumbai (Malad, Thane & Vashi), Amritsar, Jaipur Bengaluru, Bhopal & Hyderabad and it plans to add 3- 4 stores by 2011

To bring Indian shoppers a world-class retailing experience, HyperCITY had originally partnered with JHP of London, for in-store design, technology infrastructure. JHP is globally acclaimed retail design consultancy firm. Besides having designed hypermarkets in Austria and other large format stores in the UK and Europe, JHP has designed Hong Kong airport's retail layout, recently voted as the best in the world.

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