Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
remains the chief retail industry and shopping centre in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
, with some of its suburbs serving as exclusive shopping districts. Since the formation of the city in the seventeenth century,
George Town remains one of the chief commercial neighbourhood of the city. However, with the centuries passing, the central business district of the city started shifting towards the south of
Fort St. George and moving to its present location at
Gemini Circle. The city's retail industry is concentrated chiefly in
T. Nagar
Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is surrounded by Nungambakkam in the North, Teynampet in the Ea ...
, which is by far the largest shopping district of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, generating more than twice the revenue of
Connaught Place in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...
or
Linking Road in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
, even by conservative estimates.
History
The first silk sari shops in the city appeared in
George Town towards the end of the nineteenth century. These remained popular until about 1915, when new shops were opened in
Chintadripet, followed by shops near the
Parthasarathy temple in
Triplicane
Triplicane, known in the vernacular as Thiruvallikeni, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres ...
in the following years. By the late 1930s, similar shops were opened near the
Kapaleeshwarar temple
Kapaleeshwarar Temple :ta:மயிலாப்பூர் கபாலீசுவரர் கோயில் is a Hindu temple dedicated to lord Shiva located in Mylapore, Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The form of Shiva's consor ...
in
Mylapore
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...
. By this time, the Long Lake on the western peripheral region of the old city was drained out resulting in the formation of
T. Nagar
Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is surrounded by Nungambakkam in the North, Teynampet in the Ea ...
extension from the existing neighborhood of
Mambalam
West Mambalam is a residential and commercial area in Chennai, India. It is known for its shops, bazaars and Hindu temples. It is bounded by Kodambakkam to the north and Saidapet to the south. T. Nagar and Nandanam stretch all along its eastern ...
in 1923. The laying of suburban railway line from
Egmore
Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Ma ...
to
Kancheepuram
Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...
in 1911 resulted in a
station at Mambalam. In the 1950s, textile shops appeared in T. Nagar, which were soon followed by jewellery stores, eventually making the neighbourhood as a shopping destination of the present day.
Retail industry
Chennai is the most important
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
market in the
South Indian region which contributes to 45 percent of the total annual national offtake of 800 tonnes. T. Nagar accounts for about 70 to 80 percent of the gold sold in the city.
According to the 2012 Cushman & Wakefield report ''Main Streets Across the World'', Khader Nawaz Khan Road at
Nungambakkam
Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, to ...
ranked 10th position in the list of 'Top 10 Global Highest Retail Rental Growth Markets 2012', with 36.7 percent increase in rents.
Notable shopping malls
See also
*
Economy of Chennai
Chennai, the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, India, is the largest industrial and commercial center of South India. Recent estimates of the economy of the Chennai Metropolitan Area is around US$ 78.6-86 billion, $200 billion with indus ...
References
{{Chennai Topics
Economy of Chennai
Retailing in Chennai