BHOPAL: The MP Handlooms and Handicrafts Development Corporation is all set to open Mrignaynee Virtual Emporia to counter the impact of COVID 19 on the sales of the chain of state-owned premium stores.
Though Mrignaynee products are available on Amazon and other e-commerce sites along with Corporation’s website, the virtual stores would afford a different experience to buyers.
“The customer will feel as if she is inside the store and will be able to interact with the store manager,” Corporation MD Rajeev Sharma told Free Press. On e-commerce sites, the visitors can only view or purchase a product that is displayed with no human interface.
“Mrignaynee customers belong to a special class and we want to give them a special and exclusive experience,” Sharma said. A customer will first indicate the product she is interested in. If she chooses, say, Chanderi saris, she would not only be able to make a selection from the entire stock of Chanderi saris available at the store but would also be able to connect with the artisans who have tie-up with the emporium. “The customer will be remotely connected with the artisans in Chanderi and would be able to make a choice from the products available with them,” Sharma said.
It would be just like visiting the store physically. “Show me that yellow one,” the customer may tell the artisan and the sari would be shown to her.
The products will be delivered at the doorstep of customers. The prices would be the same as in the stores and would be inclusive of the courier charges.
Mrignaynee’s Delhi outlet will be first to be converted into a virtual store, to be followed by Bhopal. Next, stores in metros including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru would be brought on the network. The Delhi store would go online by July 15, Sharma said.
Mahesh Gulati, deputy director, Directorate of Handlooms and Handicrafts, said that the necessary equipment has been acquired and the work of installation and testing is underway.
Weaving charges increase
The state government has increased weaving charges of clothes by 25 per cent. The new rates would be effective from July 1, 2020. The government will now pay Rs 66 per medical bed sheet, up from Rs 53. Similarly, the charges for normal bed sheets would be Rs 86 per piece instead of the present Rs 69.
