n Republic Day, all roads appeared to lead to Big Bazaar outlets all across the country. With ads on billboards and newspapers screaming out the hypermarket's Maha Savings Day promising huge discounts, it seemed that everyone was out to catch the hottest bargain in town. So much so, the chain of stores owned by Pantaloon Retail (India) had to down the shutters by afternoon following a massive turnout at one of its Mumbai outlets that caused a major traffic snarl and a near-stampede. All the Big Bazaar outlets decided to shut down and not risk damage.

The one-time big offer apart, Big Bazaar has something it calls the 'Bring anything old and take something new' offer. Begun in 2002, it has now become an annual affair across all its 25 outlets. The company claims to offer far higher prices for raddi items like newspapers, bottles, toilet seats than the local kabadiwala. The old products are weighed and gift vouchers for that money given to the consumer. However, the consumer cannot redeem the vouchers unless he makes a purchase four times more than the gift coupon. For instance, on one kg of clothes, the consumer gets vouchers worth Rs 200 (see table) but he will have to make purchases worth Rs 800 to redeem the gift voucher. The coupon can be redeemed on anything except food items till a valid time period.... more