When Elante Mall opened in 2013, it was the largest mall in North India outside Delhi. Eleven years later, it is still drawing the crowds
The mall changed how the Tricity eats, shops, and socialises, and in doing so changed what the Tricity expects from its public spaces
Some retailers from the original 2013 lineup are gone, others have expanded. The food court has been rebuilt twice. The multiplex still sells out on weekends
On a Saturday afternoon in October, the Elante Mall parking lot fills up within the first two hours of opening. The cars come from Chandigarh, from Panchkula, from Mohali, from the villages beyond. Families with children who have been promised a movie. Young couples. Groups of colleagues from the IT companies in Phase 8 who have decided that lunch at the food court is better than anything they can organise themselves. It has been like this since 2013.
Elante changed the Tricity. Not in a metaphorical sense, but in a specific and measurable one. Before Elante opened, if you wanted a shopping experience with international brands, air conditioning, a multiplex, and a food court under one roof, you drove to Delhi. After Elante, you did not have to.
The Numbers
Elante Mall opened in April 2013. At the time, it was the largest mall in North India outside Delhi, covering approximately 1.4 million square feet of retail space. The mall has around 230 retail outlets, a PVR multiplex with multiple screens, a food court, several standalone restaurants, a gaming zone, and various entertainment outlets.
The developer is Larsen and Toubro, which chose Chandigarh as the site for what was then a significant retail bet. The bet paid off. Footfall numbers in the years after opening regularly exceeded projections, and the mall has maintained its position as the dominant shopping destination in the Tricity despite the subsequent opening of other retail developments.
What It Changed
Before Elante, shopping in Chandigarh meant Sector 17, the markets in various sectors, and small standalone stores. The experience was fragmented. You went to one part of the city for clothes, another for electronics, another for groceries. The mall collapsed this geography. You could do all of it in a single afternoon without moving your car.
For restaurants, the impact was significant. The food court introduced the Tricity to formats and chains that had previously been Delhi-only propositions. Pizza chains, Japanese fast food, South Indian tiffin chains alongside the standard North Indian fare: the range was, by 2013 standards, substantial. Some of those original tenants are gone. Others have been replaced by newer brands. The churn is part of any mall’s life.
Pehle hum Delhi jaate the agar koi achhi jagah khana khana hoti ya koi brand ka kapda lena hota. Ab Chandigarh mein hi sab kuch hai. Elante ne yeh badal diya. (Earlier we would go to Delhi for a good restaurant or a branded store. Now everything is here in Chandigarh. Elante changed that.)Simran Bajaj, resident of Sector 44, Chandigarh
The Multiplex Effect
The PVR multiplex at Elante is one of the busiest in the region. On release weekends for major Hindi films, tickets sell out within hours of going online. The mall management has had to work continuously on crowd management in the evenings, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays.
The multiplex also brought English-language and regional cinema to Chandigarh audiences who previously had to make do with limited screening options. Arthouse cinema still struggles to find screens here, as it does everywhere in India, but the mainstream Hollywood programme at Elante is comprehensive.
Eleven Years On
Malls in India often age badly. Elante, now in its second decade, has managed the transition better than most. The management has invested in renovation, the tenant mix has been actively managed, and the parking infrastructure has been expanded as demand grew.
The fashion retail mix reflects the changes in the market. Several international brands that were in the original lineup have been replaced by Indian premium brands that did not exist or were not significant in 2013. The jewellery section is more prominent than it was. The home furnishing stores have expanded.
What has not changed: the weekend crowd. The families who come for the multiplex and stay for the food court. The teenagers who use the gaming zone. The office workers who find the food court a workable place for a client meeting when no better option is available.
Elante is not a cultural institution in the way that Sector 17 is. It has no history that predates the current decade. But it has become part of the texture of Tricity life in a way that its developers could not have entirely anticipated. It is simply where people go.
Elante Mall, Chandigarh | Symbolic picture | Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) | For representation