Water-Borne Buying
- The Floating Triveni is a unique, floating supermarket on the Vembanad Lake in Kerala
- The 16-metre-long vessel covers 53 locations in the Kuttanad region
- Consumerfed, the state cooperative that owns Triveni, aims for endorsement from Guiness Book Of World Records
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No supermarket ever moved around your neighbourhood. But a recently launched floating mall on the Vembanad Lake is doing just that—doing brisk business on the Kuttanad backwaters in south Kerala's Alappuzha district. The state-owned, red-and-white-painted supermarket, called the Floating Triveni, has stationery, toiletries and provisions stacked on its shelves. Open from 8 am to 6 pm, it has eight staffers on board.
Since its launch on June 7 by cooperation minister G. Sudhakaran, the mall has been stopping by at islands, being mobbed by growing crowds of shoppers. The precise schedule of Triveni's visits, covering 53 locations, will be announced in a month. Sudhakaran says the supermarket would cater to over a million people in Kuttanad. The mall will soon deliver home appliances like washing machines for those who place an order. It will also have a computer room, for children to play computer games.
Well-stocked interiors of Floating Triveni
"Thrilled homemakers are queueing up to pick up items of choice. It's a novel experience for all of us. Now there's no looking back," says A.K. Anoop, the mall manager. Customers have been given a mobile number, using which they can contact Triveni and book items in advance. Says homemaker Mini Babu, 32: "This is a welcome step. I'll shop at the floating mall because of the ambience, plus the discounts being offered."
The Kerala State Cooperative Consumers Federation Ltd (Consumerfed), the apex body of consumer cooperatives, which owns the Rs 50-lakh mall, sells at less than market prices. The Floating Triveni offers an additional discount of two per cent to promote sales. Scheduled castes and tribal customers can avail of a further three per cent discount.
Consumerfed hit on the concept from the slender canoes ferrying men and materials along the labyrinthine backwaters and canals of Kuttanad. Perhaps Triveni's only limitation is its size—16-metre-long and six-metre-wide—which may make it difficult to navigate through some of the smaller channels. Says Riji R. Nair, MD, Consumerfed: "Initially, when this idea was floated, there was some scepticism. But we were ready to experiment and told the ship-builder that if he could build a platform that could float and remain intact, we would go for it. That's how the mall was born."
Thiruvananthapuram-based Floatels Hospitalities, promoted by electrical engineer M.R. Narayanan, took three years to build the vessel. It runs on a 40-HP engine but its on-board lighting and computers are solar-powered. Twenty people can come on board to do business at a time. At the click of a button, the inventory and sales positions are accessible to Consumerfed officials.
Consumerfed's showpiece, the on-shore Triveni chain, has 85 retail department stores catering to urban areas, 800 Neethi retail outlets in rural areas, 30 Neethi medical stores and 46 retail liquor shops and three beer parlors.
With the Floating Triveni a roaring success there are plans for similar boats in the backwaters of Kochi and Kollam. Meanwhile, considering the novelty of the backwater-cruising, island-hopping supermarket, Consumerfed has written to the Guinness Book of World Records, seeking its imprimatur that would float Triveni before the world's eyes.