Kolkata gets its first Airtel all women store

Bharti Airtel’s first all women store in Kolkata, was inaugurated recently in the presence of celebrity guests, Agnimitra Paul,Somlata Acharya and Krishnakali Lahiri. Conveniently located at Sree Manjari Building, Middleton Row, Camac Street this all women operated store, aims to provide quality service for all Airtel customers.

With the underlying thought of empowering women, this store is controlled and operated by 13 female employees of Airtel. A small step towards growing the percentage of women workers in urban areas. According to India’s National Sample Survey, the proportion of working women in urban areas has increased from 11.9% in 2001 to 15.4% in 2011. Women represent 48.4 % of the total Indian population and the female labour force participation is near about 23% as compared to men, which is 56%. 

With existing stores in Udaipur, Patna, Mumbai, Guwahati, Bangalore and Delhi, this is Airtel’s first all women store in Kolkata. This will be a Company-Owned-Company-Operated (C-O-C-O) store which is aimed at providing quality service engagement for its customers. Being a one stop window for all service related requirements including – Airtel Platinum 3G and 4G activations, 4G mobile device and dongle options, Broadband connections, bill payments and complaint resolution. The store has specially trained staff to help Airtel customers choose the right mobile device option and data offerings as per their specific need.

Airtel encourages women to take full ownership,trained to deliver their best in their field, this store bears testimony to the fact that today’s women can play different roles in society, breaking the stereotypes. The comfort of female customers who hesitate to walk into a normal store was also kept in mind while planning to open this all women store.  

The all women stores, are a part of Airtel’s innovative approach to address the specific service requirements of its large female customer base in this continuously growing and competitive market. Airtel has always championed the cause of empowering women and have several initiatives credited to them which focusses on delegating responsibilities to women so that they can recognise their capabilities and work towards an empowered India in equal footing with their male counterparts.

Commenting at the inauguration of the first all women store in Kolkata,Ravindra Singh Negi, CEO, West Bengal and Odisha, Bharti Airtel Limited said, “Recognising the capabilities of women has always been integral to Airtel’s commitment to the society, and thus the launch of this store comes as an important step. Controlled and operated entirely by women, this all new Airtel store will leverage the best of retail practices and will be our first outlet in Kolkata to specifically focus on enhancing the engagement and service experience offered to women’’