Latest news with #BigBazaar
NDTV
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Viral Now: Comedian Sorabh Pant Lists Desi Amenities At His Dubai Hotel, Internet Amused
Hotels often customise their offerings to cater to the needs of their most popular guest demographic. A funny video of a Dubai hotel's amenities that aim to make Indian guests feel welcome recently went viral on Instagram. It was posted by comedian Sorabh Pant. While he was staying at the Majestic City Retreat in Dubai, he made a compilation of all the 'desi' elements he found at the property. He explained them in a rather exaggerated manner using a voiceover with a 'foreign' accent, which gave a humorous twist to the situation. The video starts with the declaration, "When your international hotel is *basically* Indian." Sorabh proceeds to show viewers a clock in the hotel's gym, which is from Big Bazaar. The breakfast buffet has many Indian dishes. The comedian jokingly describes it as containing "Poha, Jain Poha, 19 parathas, 18 types of rajma, dosas." He sarcastically wonders aloud, "Where is my muffin?" Back in the room, he shows us that the TV package includes Hindi news channels. He also points out that the washroom has a bidet and a jet spray. That's not all. The hotel's sports bar is decorated with posters and flags featuring different IPL teams. "The hotel may be international, but all the residents are Indian," he concludes. Watch the complete viral video below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sorabh Pant (@sorabhpant) Also Read: Visiting Dubai? Let Our Guide Help You Plan The Perfect Trip In the comments, many people were amused but not surprised to find so many "desi" things in a Dubai property. The hotel itself commented and said, "Thank you for visiting us. We are proud to be Desi in a Videsi environment." Read some of the reactions of Instagram users here: "AI - Actually Indian." "Welcome to Bur Dubai." "You need to redo this reel during Diwali, especially at night." "Oh, this is a hotel apartment in Bur Dubai - the Indian hood." "Welcome to Majestic City Retreat, your home away from home." "Had a similar experience in Hotel Holiday International in Bur Dubai." "Sorry, fam. Breakfast buffet is legit gold. Wouldn't want anything else." "Tell us you are in Bur Dubai without telling us." "I hope the room was deceeeent." here to find out why.
India.com
2 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Meet man who was once 'retail king' of India, lost everything due to one mistake, owner of Rs 152257647298 is now bankrupt, name is....
Kishore Biyani (File) Kishore Biyani, the founder of Big Bazaar– India's first retail store– and the Pantaloons clothing brand, was once called the 'retail king' of India as his chain of retail stores earned hefty profits, often registering daily earnings well in excess of Rs 30 crore or more. However, a single mistake toppled the retail empire built by Kishore Biyani, bankrupted him, and sent him to the deepest pits of obscurity. Let us delve into the shocking riches to rags story of Kishore Biyani: The birth and rise and fall of Pantaloons The story begins in 1983, when after finishing college, Kishore Biyani decided to start his own venture, instead of joining his father's business. In college, Biyani found that stone wash trousers were wildly popular among young men in those days, and fabric's demand was increasing in India at a rapid pace. Realising the demand, Biyani purchased 200 meters of the fabric from Jupiter Mill, and sold it to earn a hefty profit. However, soon Kishore Biyani stumbled upon the idea of manufacturing and trading fashionable stone wash trousers instead of selling the fabric to other manufacturers, thus establishing the Pantaloons brand. Pantaloons grew at a rapid pace, and soon opened its first retail showroom in Kolkata, where the brand launched women's and kids' clothing along with men's apparel. The store's light colors, lighting, and the overall look and feel, were designed to evoke a calming shopping experience, and soon Pantaloons made Kishore Biyani the undisputed king of fashion retail in the country. How Big Bazaar made Kishore Biyani India's 'retail king'? After tasting success in fashion retail with Pantaloons, Kishore Biyani set his sights on capturing the growing grocery market. Biyani observed that people only spend about 8 percent of their income on clothes, and decided to sell groceries, stationery, food items, and jewelry along with clothing. Biyani's unique plan was to make everything, from clothes to groceries and kitchen essentials, available to consumers under a single roof, and thus Big Bazaar, India's first retail store, was born. Big Bazaar was targeted towards the growing middle class, so instead of an expensive, posh-looking store, Biyani decided that his retail store would have the feel of a regular grocery shop, where the sales persons were dressed in regular clothes, instead of bow ties and suits. The name Big Bazaar resonated with the common man, and made enhanced its appeal, and soon the brand grew into a behemoth that minted over Rs 30 crore on a daily basis. Kishore Biyani wanted to compete with local grocery shops, so his strategy revolved around offering cheaper prices than traditional grocery stores. Beyond Big Bazaar, Biyani wanted to establish a place where consumers could shop for all types of goods under a single roof, and thus opened the Central Mall in Bengaluru in 2004. The 20000 square meters mall had everything from footwear to home decor, food, grocery, jewellery stores, food courts, restaurants, pubs, and movie theaters. Biyani's Future Group– the holding company which had all his brands like Big Bazaar, Central Mall, Easy Day, and Pantaloons, under its umbrella– had the largest share in India's retail sector, and made Biyani the 'retail king' of India. The fall of Kishore Biyani After conquering the retail industry, Kishore Biyani desired to venture into every business which directly dealt with the consumer, but this proved to be downfall because his unplanned expansion resulted in mounting debt which ultimately swelled to over Rs 12000 crore. Soon, Biyani was forced to sell the Central Mall for Rs 476 crore, and while Big Bazaar kept going for year despite large debts, its sales crashed, and so did Biyani's retail empire, during the 2008 recession. In March 2019, Biyani sold the Pantaloons brand to the Aditya Birla Group for Rs 1600 crore, while banks froze the assets and shares of Future Group after he failed to clear debts. Later, Kishore Biyani sold Big Bazaar to Reliance Retail– Indis's largest retailer run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha Ambani. Reliance has now renamed Big Bazaar to Smart Bazaar. Kishor Biyani net worth At the peak of his business success, Kishore Biyani had net worth pegged at USD 1.78 billion in 2019, according to Forbes. However, after bankruptcy, his current wealth is believed to be a fraction of the fortune he once owned.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
International hotel, desi guests: 4-star in Dubai serves poha, plays Hindi news channels
Indian viewers have been left much amused by a four-star hotel in Dubai that appears to cater to a predominantly desi audience - to the extent that it serves an array of Indian dishes in the breakfast buffet, offers Hindi news channels on the television, and has IPL pennants in the sports bar. Even the clock hanging in the hotel gym has a desi touch - it was bought from Big Bazaar. A video highlighting the Majestic City Retreat Hotel's desi touches was shared on Instagram by stand-up comedian Sorabh Pant. 'When your international hotel is basically Indian,' Pant captioned his video, which opens with a view of the Dubai skyline. The camera then moves inside to show the Big Bazaar wall clock hanging in the gym. 'Breakfast buffet has poha, Jain poha, 19 parathas, 18 types of rajma, dosas,' says Jain in the voiceover, moving his camera to show the Indian dishes. The Indianisms do not stop there. Inside the room, guests can watch Hindi language news channels. If they step out to the hotel sports bar, they are greeted with IPL-themed decor. And last but not least, Indian tourists have no reason to be homesick because the bathroom has not just a bidet but also a jet spray. A post shared by Sorabh Pant (@sorabhpant) 'Welcome to Majestic City Retreat, your home away from home,' quipped one person in the comments section. 'Tell us you are in Bur Dubai without telling us,' another said with laughing emojis. Dubai is a very popular destination for Indian tourists, thanks to easy accessibility, inexpensive flights and a huge diaspora population. The Bur Dubai area has a large population of Indians, giving it the unofficial nickname of 'Little India'. (Also read: Dubai firm vanishes overnight without a trace, Indian investors lose millions: 'Like they never existed')
