Nestled in the heart of the city, Quest mall was opened by Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of RPSG Group, as a gift to the city in the form of a luxury mall. Eleven winters since, the mall that has become a one-stop destination in the city for luxe shopping, is undergoing a massive overhaul that will be the talking point of the city. To find out more, t2 caught up with the man behind this grand vision, Sanjiv Goenka, to give us a sneak peek of Quest’s new quest, in an exclusive tête-à-tête.

There is so much work happening at Quest mall! Tell us what’s new here?

The benchmark of luxury has undergone a change. And people and luxury brands who thought Calcutta was not a good market for luxury have now started believing that Calcutta is a very good market for luxury. So, it’s about the rebirth of Quest. It’s Quest in a new avatar. We can say it is Quest 2.0! It’s about actually remodelling the whole mall. So from the entrance to the floors, everything will undergo a change. We are spending ₹150 crores in just reformatting and remodeling the mall.

What did you keep in mind before deciding to change the look and feel of Quest?

So when we were conceiving this (Quest mall), that time it was, okay, it shouldn’t be intimidating. It shouldn’t be obviously luxury. So that you know, people might not probably think twice before walking in. Now, Calcutta has grown as a city, Calcuttans have grown, their tastes have grown, their aspirations have grown. And therefore, the whole thing is about reformatting it to today’s requirements. Keeping ahead, keeping above. So we started this exercise of re-conceptualisation about a year-and-a-half ago.

What actually made you realise that it’s time for change?

It’s like your taste changes, your requirements change. What you consider luxury today is a necessity tomorrow. It’s not a luxury. So it’s about redefining the space which is luxury. It’s about that whole experience from the facade to when you walk in, to the feel, to the dining areas. Also, prior to redoing Quest 2.0, the mall did just short of ₹1,000-crore sales. That goes on to say that Calcutta is ready for more luxe offerings.

What are some of the most prominent changes coming up?

We’re doing away with the food court. And what we are doing is a restaurant court. As in, you will have a series of restaurants and you can get service at your table as opposed to buying a coupon. When it opens you will see, the design that we’ve approved is great. I hope the finish is great as well. This is the first time it will have beer and wine. Usually, in a food court we don’t serve that. In the restaurant court you will get every kind of cuisine.

You can pick and choose, you can sit at your table, you can actually mix and match. If you want dosa, pizza, beer and ice cream, it all comes to you. The service will also be faster that way and no crowding, no waiting, no queueing. Then you will have Starbucks Reserve and Laduree Cafe gradually among many other brands.

What about the fashion brands?

(Smiles) We will see brands which we never thought would come to Calcutta. You will see Bottega Veneta, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo and so much more! Calcutta seems to be growing. You will see what happens to the first, second and third floors. See, I started it as a gift to the city. My objective was to create something that’s special, now the whole meaning of special is redefined so you change that whole thing. It’s a huge cost for us of course but when you’re doing it out of passion for the city you do whatever is best. Calcutta sees luxury as the world sees luxury. So, you have to give the city what it wants.

You have a pop-up store of Eleventy that is for Gen Z. You know, it’s very young and it’s one of the finest fashion brands in the world. People like us can’t even conceive of wearing it, neither our bodies are like that (laughs). Previously, the 40- and 50-year-olds were the people who could afford luxury. Today, it’s the 25- and 30-year-olds who can afford luxury. You have to get brands that cater to their requirements.

The entire dynamic has changed. Lifestyle will be going away and inside that we will have other luxury stores within a larger luxury store.

When can we see the new brands coming in?

As far as the first floor is concerned, the movement of the four brands from the ground floor to the first floor will happen by March. So some of the brands like Michael Kors and Coach will go to the first floor and the new brands will come in....Then they take a six-month process. So by the end of next year, I think all the work will be complete.

What’s happening on the entertainment part?

You will see something come up for the kids as we have to cater to them. If we had some more space, we could have done so much more.

There have been certain unsavoury rumours about Quest...

These are utter bunk! We have 150 security personnel, 360 cameras all around, we have 3,500 people working here and so many women working here as well. It is more secured than secure. Certain people have tried tarnishing the image with baseless acquisitions which are rubbish! This kind of human-mongering is utter bunk. We don’t know who but somebody is targeting the company, the board and the image of Quest. What’s important is we are very cognizant of our responsibilities and we take security very seriously.

What else is happening?

You know RPGIS got voted as the number one design school just now!

There seems to be a scarcity of seats, almost everyone seems to be seeking admission at RPGIS...

I don’t look after the admission part at all! Shivika (daughter-in-law) looks after the whole school. But admissions she will not get done. She will not influence in one admission and that is a policy we follow.

This is my give-back to the city. You know, I’m the sixth generation here, my son is the seventh generation, my grandchildren are the eighth generation born and living in the city... we owe so much to the city. What can we do for the city? You know every day I am looking at the limit. Maybe my means are limited but whatever is within my means.... So, a mall, you know that is something that Calcutta didn’t have anything of that kind. That’s why the school, Woodlands Hospital with the best doctors...

Personally, when you go to a mall what is it that makes the cut for you?

It starts with the look and feel. That’s where it starts and that’s what we are changing. Then it’s also the mix of brands. It’s the merchandise that the brands have.