Dalma Garden Mall: Opening of the first mall in Armenia

The first real mall opened today in Yerevan. I couldn't miss the event and since everyone is asking me how it went, I decided to make a post with my impressions and photos.

Dalma Grand Opening

It's a 2-story huge (for Yerevan) building with a nice interior. The parking lot can accommodate more than 700 cars). There are several escalators and 2 elevators. Apart from a hypermarket (Carrefour, to be opened in November) and 50+ shops, there is a Coffee House (on Level 1) and a food court with Tashir pizza (not surprisingly), Mr.Gyros, Wasabi, Spago Grill (on Level 2). To the disappointment of the opening's visitors -- only Tashir pizza was operating with the usual taste-less pizza and big queues. A "Cinema Star" complex is in the plans, so is a bowling alley and children's playground.

 

a fountain and a small glass bridge

The good:

• Many new franchise stores have opened and many more were announced on the doors of the yet empty areas. A good part of our population has been waiting for the opening of brand stores of Zara, Bershka, Marks & Spencer, Gap, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Topshop, Accessorize, NewYorker in Armenia. The full list of the brands is available in the description of the event.
• Many brands that already have their stores in Yerevan will have stores Dalma as well (like Mango, Promod, Clarks, Aldo, Baldi, Bata, Chocco, Yves Rocher, Sali and others)
• There is a Zigzag megastore! yep, an electronics megastore in Yerevan :)

the electronics megastore in Dalma

• The interior planning and design are generally good. The coffee house on the Level 1 looks really pretty :) There were a few fountains: the ones on the level 1 were with colourful lights, really cute:)

the Dalma Coffee House 

• A huge Zara store was opened today, with a fashion show organized in the evening. The collection was big and for almost all tastes, as always. 
• Charles & Keith -- a shoes and accessories store had a nice collection! 
• The prices (in case someone still doubts) are the same as in all other franchise stores of the brands.
• There was a really great mood around the mall, because of the many familiar faces, music, scents, balloons and a sunny weather visible from the big windows on the ceiling. 

Dalma Coffee House again

Charles & Keith in Dalma

Accessorize in Dalma

Zara in Dalma

Oysho in Dalma

The bad:

• Unfortunately, only few stores were open today. Some opened hours after the mall's official opening. You could see the store (like Accessorize), ready, with assistants inside, but there was a security guard at the door, not letting anyone in. Marks & Spencer, occupying one of the biggest areas, has invited everyone to the mall opening, but was actually closed :) with all the items set up and balloons at the door. They just replied to me saying "WE ARE EXCLUSIVE BRAND..and we need EXCLUSIVE OPENING!! YOU ALL WILL BE INFORMED !!!!!!". Well, ok :))
• I couldn't find a list of stores which are actually open already, either a timeline for those that will open soon. 
• There was a limited -- almost no food choice today. After walking around we got quite hungry, but resisted to stand in a queue for a Tashir pizza. The Coffee House didn't yet have any menu, or food whatsoever. We just took a good Molinari cappuccino, after waiting for a table to become vacant for quite a long time. Yeah, there were too many people for too few tables. But i guess it was because of the opening.

the food court

• Some areas in the mall (especially Level 2) were yet dusty, not yet constructed. I had a glance through the slightly opened door of the Cinema complex. It was yet just nothing but a cement :D
• The concert outside of the mall featuring Armenian pop stars (and then a group of some 'ancient' Russian pop chicks) was totally useless. I don't think anyone visited the opening because of the concert. It just created some unnecessary noise and problems for the parking and traffic.

The concert outside Dalma

• The website www.dalma.am has been down for days because of an exceeded bandwidth.
• The small brochure of the mall with the floor plan is poorly designed. The text (in English) is awful :) or maybe it's just literally translated from Russian.

the Dalma floor plan scanned from the brochure

Dalma brochure

Dalma Garden Mall is open from 10:00 to 22:00

A little background:
Dalma Garden Mall was build by the Dalma Invest company, affiliated with Tashir Group, with a $50 million investment.
The territory on which the mall was built was part of the Dalma gardens.

.. it used to be a historical monument in the form of gardens which stretched from Erebuni Museum to Yerevan Lake, then farther to Tsitsernakaberd, Hrazdan Gorge and much farther, up to Zvartnots Airport and to Echmiadzin through Argavand. It used to be a forest planted with fruit tress and vineyards, unique in their species. (Ecolur)

The land owners of the gardens have been protesting the illegal decision of the municipality for already 9 years, when they were seized their land areas and sold to new owners thus violating their rights. (here is more info on this in Armenian).

Dalma Garden Mall has been scheduled to open last year, or even earlier, if I'm not mistaken. It was being postponed without approximate dates for several times. Later it was connected with the fact that they want to open many franchise boutiques and months are needed to do the interior design and furnishing.

me caught by Anna from the escalator

me in Zara

with my friend Emma and her bump :)

Here's a professional photo report from the opening by PanARMENIAN Photo.

the Cosmo girl in me has awakened

Finally I'm inspired to write another blog post. It's about my new favorite magazine - Cosmo!

To tell the truth, when I first heard that there will be an Armenian Cosmopolitan, i wasn't very optimistic about that... and I couldn't even imagine that I will be buying its every issue and participating in Cosmo events with such an enthusiasm. The cosmo girl in me has been awakened :) I don't remember myself buying any beauty or women's magazines. So far, the only magazine I've been buying with this periodicity was the "Хакер" when I was a teenager :)

There have been very different responses to Cosmo's appearance in the Armenian market. Many friends of mine have been mocking the articles, titles and just the fact that "those terms" sound so funny in Armenian. But is there any other way? I imagine how difficult it is for the writers and editors to translate and adapt the materials and just to find out how those things are called in Armenian! One of the biggest impacts of Cosmo in our society will be for us to finally get used to Armenian language terms for things. I didn't know Armenian equivalents for most of cosmetics items and even names of clothing (դիմափոշի for румяна, ստվերաներկ for тень, բոկոտիկ for босоножка, երանգաքսուք for тональный крем etc).

So here I'm gonna tell you why I <3 Cosmo so much :)

• It's very professionally done. From content to the design and layout (printing quality too :))). I really enjoy browsing its pages.
• Contrary to other beauty magazines we have in the market (which are brought from Russia), the content in Armenian Cosmo is actually targeted on us! You see the ad and you know that you can buy it here in the boutiques.
• The fashion and beauty columns are informative, useful and with items that are accessible for us. You can see professional photo shoots with clothing that is hand picked from our boutiques by their fashion editor with prices indicated and stylists advice on how to combine the items.
• They have a good social media strategy and a very professional website (kudos to Shushan!;).
• They succeeded in finding their target "audience" and their first months showed us how much this magazine was demanded by Armenian young women. I'm not surprised that Cosmo is actually the largest circulation Armenian magazine in our market.
• I'm really proud for knowing some people from the Cosmo staff personally and that's how I'm not surprised how they get such a great thing done every month :))
• You can find useful gifts in some issues! I bought two copies of an issue that had a really cute and quality passport cover from women'secret inside. My mom started to read Cosmo after that :))))
• They organize really cool events !!! :)

Last month Cosmo organized a "Tropic Party" in Vahakni and I went there with my cousin and met looots of friends. They had invited some beauty salons and cosmetics brands to showcase their products, had some contests and many surprises. Imagine, opportunity to have a free professional make-up (got lucky to have it!), hairdo (mine was amazing! my sister didn't recognize me at first when she saw me like that :)), free cosmopolitan cocktail (of course), great music and gifts, gifts...

me having a professional makeup (probably just 3rd time in my life :D)

here i learned about this hair gadget which makes awesome hair :))

so this was my look

me and my sister :) my hairdo consists of "broken waves" (yup, just learned the name)

this pic was featured in the September issue, I'm on it!! :D

Here's Cosmo's photo report on the party: part 1, part 2, part 3.

After the tropic party, we learned that there will be a shopping night in Yerevan, for the first time!!! They managed to get more than 80 boutiques and companies participating and actually organized a real shopping festival for Yerevan citizens.  I promised myself that I won't do any shopping before that date (financial issues, nothing else :D), but had to break my promise since I had to be a gorgeous maid of honor on my friends' wedding before the shopping night :))) [and you know, i couldn't recycle an old dress and even shoes on that wedding!]

With my shopaholics image known to the whole world, I unwillingly became a walking advertisement for the Cosmo shopping night :D I've been getting few questions on what it is and how it's gonna be held, every day. Calls, FB messages, in person... well, somehow i was really informed :) Hey Cosmo, I guess you owe me here :D

It so happened that had very limited finances [the shopping for wedding was... costly, to say the least :D]. As a true shopaholic, I already knew what's up in the boutiques, so the shopping night was planned to be just 'walking around, fitting stuff' kinda activity. And it so happened that at first, I got to be strolling from boutique to boutique with my awesome male friend :D very nice experience, I must say [well, it became a little awkward in the Etam lingerie boutique, but hey, there were few other guys in there too! :D]. Actually, in this case, I got lucky to know a guy who appreciates shopping in general and was really patient with me :)) 

late night shopping with Ani

After that I got the chance to visit the Burberry store for the first time (memorable thing, huh) and watched my friend Ani buy a beautiful new dress with a nice discount from there :))

So how was it? as my friend Gaspar noted, there wasn't so much stir and boom during the Museum night in any year :D The central streets were flooded with groups of girls, all dressed up, with full shopping bags. Some stores organized banquets and DJs playing.. with all the stir, you could think that there have been clearance sales everywhere. In reality, there were 10-20% discounts, plus gifts, contests and a promise to be open till midnight. There were queues in front of many boutiques up to late night. I managed to do a small shopping and to have this cute star pendant from Mango as a memory from this day :)

Cosmo's photo report on the shopping night: part 1, part 2.

P.S. Shopaholics among you can check out this Foursquare list I made of boutiques where I shop for clothing and lingerie.

P.P.S. I'm not affiliated with Cosmopolitan Armenia in any way (except for the people i know who work for it) and this isn't meant to be an advertisement. I just want to show my support for this 'project' and will continue promoting the stuff i like in my blog :)

Yerevan shopping guide for girls: New Year Sales edition 2010

Today I spent about 5 hours wandering on the streets of my byuuutiful festive Yerevan, doing my favorite money-spending activities: shopping for wearables and gifts. At first I was by myself, but I didn't feel alone, since I incidentally met dozen of friends on streets and inside stores. Some of them joined me for several stops. Others were following the same route so I kept seeing them behind the coats stand in one store and trying on some shoes in another :-D

Yes, I'm a shopaholic and it's not news. It turned out that I've become some kind of a Yerevan shops guide for my friends. I'm constantly being asked where to buy shoes, or dresses or where are sales in the city. Not that I go and constantly check out every store :) It's just that I walk a lot and communicate with lots of people and since it's an area of my interest, I'm kinda more informed than average. This is why I decided to share this information with my readers, hoping it might help them!

a tiresome shopping in Italy :))

Taking into account my recent trip to Rome, which was also successful in terms of shopping (there were no sales just yet though :( ), my appetite is still quite full now. I haven't been eagerly waiting for the sales this year and just needed to refill my footwear collection (which can never be enough, you know :D) and buy something new for the NY parties :)..

Enough about me and let's proceed with the tips that will include some FAQs I get from my friends considering shopping.

Today, during my 5 hour shopping trip, I managed to visit the following stores (there is the discounts info, not entirely precise however). If I knew then, that I'll be blogging about it, I'd be more attentive to the numbers.

• Benetton (no sale)
• Next (up to 30% partly)
• Promod (up to 50% partly)
• Mango (Tumanyan, Abovyan) (up to 50%)
• Mexx (up to 30%?)
• Motivi (up to 50%)
• Debenhams (25% sales were just for Dec. 25, 26)
• Chocco (up to 30%?)
• For Love 21 (no sale)
• Papagallo (50% but were limited to this weekend i guess)
• Basic House (up to 50%)
• Terranova/Oggi (up to 50%)

Stores I missed but are also worth checking: Morgan de Toi, Punto Zara, Giordano, 3 Suisses, Bossini, Kira Plastinina, Extyn, Josef, Guess, Garderobe, Max & Co, Ecco & Clarks and also Steve Madden and Paolo Boticelli for shoes, those several boutiques on Parpetsi street, that do not fit to my style and pocket, but you might want to check them too.

Now, some words about several boutiques.

Benetton, the United Colors of

Possibly my all time favorite brand. Keywords: mystyle, italian, colorful, expensive. Benetton's shoes and boots are my (wallet's) guilty pleasure... :)

The store
The store in Yerevan is far from being nice for a shopping experience. I don't like the staff - they are never helpful. If you pick some clothes to try on, then you have to hang them somewhere yourself, no one comes for help. They never tell about the possible discount options and sale dates. It's a challenge to ask for shoe sizes too. I've been asked to go and check one by one myself (even on mannequins!)
Besides, these days I was about to write a petition or even write to the Benetton's general management, because of the wrong management strategy of the local franchiser.
They only bring very limited sizes and colors of the shoes so that there's practically nothing left in weeks. I suffer for weeks, deciding whether I should buy those extra expensive but uber stylish shoes and when I've finally made up my mind - all I get is just the least nice color and several options for 40+ sizes. Most footwear models disappear in all sizes before the sale date comes. I see they are very popular among wealthy Yerevan citizens and they would have noticed this too! Would it bother them to bring some more pairs??! Oh yes, I'm frustrated :|

What to buy

Holiday greetings on Benetton's FB page

Cute and quality shoes, underwear, trendy tights, shirts, and almost everything else from clothing.

Sales, Discounts
The bad news is - there is no holiday sale currently. If i'm not mistaken, last year a 20% sale started sometime around January 20. So hold on, if you can :)

But there's some good news ! A year ago I signed for a bonus card, which was also advertised in Benetton then, and it provided a 10% permanent discount on everything. Quite a meaningful discount especially for some 80K shoes :) Check bonus.am for details.

They provide a 10-15% discount card if you make a 150K+ shopping at once. I've been told that one could also keep the checks and collect them to make 150K for getting that card.

There's some 10-15% discount when buying with credit cards of certain banks like HSBC, Converse Bank, Ameriabank etc.

Else

Benetton cookies that look like delicious octopuses :))

Benetton has always been one of the most creative brands in terms of marketing and advertising. If you go to their website now, you'll see some goodies, like for example these cookies. I'm going to cook them soon ;)

Next (co.uk)

This UK brand's store is quite popular in Yerevan. What's particular to this store is their gift suggestions. Current you can buy some nicely gift-wrapped nightwear and slippers. The staff is generally nice and helpful. Not very full these days.

What to buy

some cute slippers in Next

Shoes, bags, purses and other accessories, socks and tights, slippers, and jeans.

Discount, sales
Their sales dates are not very predictive and the current holiday sales are limited to shoes only. At least it was where I saw the 30% sign.

No info if they have discount cards. There are nice gift cards, though.



Mango (since 1984)

This is my favorite brand for practically everything. And I guess it's the favorite one also for the major part of females in Yerevan. The first days of the sales is a total madness, to say the least. There are long queues at the fitting rooms, checkout and even at the doorsteps. Everything gets messy inside and some shoppers (a big part I'd say) become like zombies (a swarm of locusts is a more precise definition), going through others' heads, stepping on anything to pick the desired thing just TO SEE it.

What to buy
I'm generally dressed there. I buy the basics like dresses, skirts, shorts, tops, glasses, sometimes coats, suits and shoes too.

Sales, Discounts
The sale was announced on December 23 (I'm subscribed to the newsletter, of course :) and I got an SMS on that day (I guess I've left my contacts there when they had those subscribe cards at the checkout).
So the best way to be notified about the sales is to subscribe to their news.
They always start their sales before NY holidays (sometimes from 25%, however this year it was < 50% right away). The sale will continue for weeks, turning to 70% at a point. It's still possible to find goodies by then :)

I have no idea if they have discount cards and it's likely that they don't. If they do, why don't I have it yet?? If you know anything about it, share in comments :)

Some precious tips

#1. Mango is the only brand I know that has their entire collection on the website for browsing and online shopping (limited countries). (go to mangoshop.com and select a country, i usually go for Italy/English/)
You can easily navigate through various garments, check the collection and find out that other colors can the current item have. You can find the major part (if not entirely) of what's displayed on the website in our local stores.

#2. Since their sales dates are quite predictable, I'd suggest you to go check out the collection in the store once in a while. If you don't have something you have to buy immediately, you might want to try on things you like and leave them for buying when the sale comes. Since their collection is huge, chances are you'll be able to find your desired item in your size during the sales. And while it's almost not possible to wait in the line for trying them on, you might win a valuable time and precious nerve cells skipping that part. I have never waited in the line for trying on things during this sales shopping period. Partly, because I know my precise size for everything and mainly because I've tried on enough things to be sure that I won't regret about buying them like that, right away.

Mango Newsletter

#an interesting fact: During the recent years of shopping, me and my sis have collected an unbelievably crazy amount of branded paper bags, in their excellent condition :) for some unknown reason we didn't trash them immediately. During this new year spring cleaning, my sis sorted them by brands, and those that counted a few dozen (Mango was the absolute winner), she decided to take to the store. We didn't believe they would accept them, but it was worth the try. My sister came back from Mango really happy, because they not only accepted them back, but also gave a small reward in the form of a winter handbag :) The Mango staff is great (they even do recognize my face, you know :D) and we definitely LOVE MANGO.

Promod (nouveau!)

This French brand's recently opened boutique was won my heart. It's very favorably located and can be compared to Mango with prices and partly also with style.

What to Buy
Scarves, bijoux, fashion tights, jackets, dresses, jeans...

Sales
The sales started few days ago and they are up to 50%, however not on the entire collection. Actually, I was walking with my friend, passing the Promod store couple of days ago wondering out loud if they plan to start their sales. We had our spiced tea in ArtBridge and when we were walking back, we noticed that the % signs were already sticked to the glasses. THEY HEARD ME.

Debenhams (in front of Eritasardakan metro station)

Debenhams is a department store from UK that was just recently opened also in Yerevan. The store is quite big and not very crowded. They have a big choice of shoes, handbags and lingerie. Strangely, I didn't buy anything while i spent about half an hour there today. They are a bit overpriced and the collections' style is not really mine. When you go, check out the "Home" section (very small though) on the 2nd floor. There were really nice bed linens, shovels, candles and other stuff.

Sales
The Armenian store has a Facebook page, where they announce about sales. 25% discount was for December 25,26 only, however they have announced on the page, that there will soon be a NY sale also.




...
Benefit from discount cards

I've had this terrific idea since long ago, now i'm finally sharing it. I think to create a FB group where we could share our discount cards and coupons for shops. Declare the ones we have and lend to others when they need it. It will especially be great for accumulative cards. For example, I have 10% discount card for Mexx and 20% for Motivi and I'll be happy to lend them.

As I have mentioned in Benetton's case, there is this bonus.am that might be handy :)

Some banks like HSBC, Converse Bank, Ameriabank have fixed sales with their credit cards. Be sure to check with your bank for them.

Check also fashionsquare.am. They have information about sales in several boutiques and gallery of the items.

One more tip

If you doubt to buy *it* or not, I have a tip for you. What I usually do in those cases is - going out and watching other stuff for a while (can be some hours or days, depending on the probability of it to be sold out during that period). If I still remember about it and it's on my mind - I should go and get it ASAP! It has been several times that I was checking the store's opening hour and rushing there in the morning to buy the thing that had occupied all my mind at night :D

This one is from a piece of writing that was meant to be published written back in March, 2009. However I changed my mind limiting its audience to my friends only then. Needs editing but some stuff is not yet outdated there :))

Some more shopping tips from Averik on Yerevan.ru (in Russian).

You may share your information and tips on the subject, I'll update the post with them :))

Happy shoppppiiing!

the minimalist bug in me

I think i've caught a minimalist bug. Meaning, i have sort of an allergy to things /especially clothes/ that have a rich texture, lots of details and colors. I suddenly discovered that almost all of my clothes are single-colored, simple and do not have many details.

It became most obvious when I was shopping for summer dresses. In a wide collection of colorful and floral fabrics I had a hard time finding dresses i would like to wear. I was trying them on, and the most beautiful dresses just didn't fit on me as I saw it and I felt uncomfortable in them.

After discovering this, I forced myself to buy a scarf which was white with pink/violet circles as a pattern. It didn't come easily, I really made an effort. Sounds funny, huh?

I guess I'm having similar "disorders" from time to time. For instance, this winter I couldn't wear colors at all. My entire winter shopping consisted of black/beige/grey clothes. I couldn't make myself wear any color except for those and it was constantly being criticized by my mom, who hates wearing black.

Do you think it's some kind of a phobia? or is it a "normal" disorder? :)

p.s. while browsing for wallpapers, themes for various stuff, I always choose the "minimalist" category :D so it goes beyond the clothing.

Confessions of a Shopaholic. That is me.

Hey shopaholics and shopaphils ! You'll find some familiar stuff here :D

Max has occupied the warm place on my pillow and since I don't want to distract him from that cute pose he's currently taken, I will write these thoughts of mine. 2am and I don't want to do anything but writing.

Some days ago I watched "The Confessions of a Shopaholic". The movie was weak and so-so, kind of a mix from "Sex and the City", "Devil wears Prada" and "Love and other disasters". I had to watch that because of the familiar topic.

Unlike with the heroine of the "Shopaholic", in childhood i had the best clothes because they were either sewn by my mother or sent from US by her relatives. And my nother was the one developing the sense of style in us.

The heroine was somehow close to me since she was a journalist/columnist at a magazine (like Carrie Bradshaw, like me in my inner desires) and her addiction to nice stuff. She couldn't resist the calling of fancy shop glasses, mannequines persuading to buy the stuff that is very nice but not always needed. I have the same thing. The main difference between my shopaholism and the heroine's, is that I spend the real money I have and not credits.

My credit history is clear because it's empty. I don't have and never had any line of credit on my cards, neither I have bought anything on credit. I just spend my salary on the things that i love and i think i can't live without :) That leads to the money shortage by the end of the month. I can spend my last thousands of drams on a bag or shoe that i think will be sold out by the time i receive my next salary. When my wallet becomes empty (see last days of each month) I just start saving on my evening cafe-attendings. Tea and that's it :D

I save the change from the money i take from my dad for the shopping for home, that's usually some hundred drams only :D (I do it usually on my own money,.. when i still have it) and sometimes i do borrow some money from my dad if i have to go out that day, for a tea. But i have to mention that i never become skinflint and i always do offer a coffee or tea to my friend if i feel like that. Even if that were my last 500 drams. I'm used to be "empty-walleted" :D and used to not taking the wallet, because all my money is in coins and fits in my pockets quite well :D

Yeah, i feel terrible those days (although, getting used to and better by each month :D), but that's the price i have to pay for my shopping addiction which i'm not sure can be overcame anytime soon.

I'm a shopaholic. I do admit that. It's a recent addiction and I cannot predict how far it will go. But I can feel some huge difference between me - some years ago and me-now. And not only of the outlook, amount of "labels" in my wardrobe and the permanent short of money.

In addition to this, I'm also a terrible saver. I CANNOT SAVE to buy something pricey, even if it's something i'm dreaming about and needs couple of months' saving !!!! I have used some methods like putting my money into a bank account (then i discovered that it's actually easier to shop with a card :DDD), and to put some big bills into a pig saving box (i take them out easily buy the end of the month, because there are always some circumstances :D e.g the need to buy a present for a friend, or not willing to borrow from dad)

Now I'm a shoe-a-holic and cute-stuff-holic. My favorite colors of the season are shades of pink, black and flesh-tones of coral, pink, peach etc... I wear a lot of B&W clothes since I'm quite formal dressed at work. The bright colored accessories "rescue" me there.

Now, when more and more clothes of mine have a name and even can be found online (I have made this as a qualifier for clothes :D) I'm being distinguished with my style from others as much as the limited number of affordable boutiques available in Yerevan let me do so.


Now, our wardrobe (I am sharing the room and wardrobe with my sister) is overloaded and on opening any door, something always is falling out on our heads. We are now negotiating with parents to put the purchasing of a new wardrobe for our room on the first place in the list of our planned big purchases.

Friends say that i have a natural luck of finding stuff that is on a big sale and usually the size that is left is my exact one! And they often ask me how do i manage to do it.

Since my silly post has to have a practical value and contain something useful for my readers, I'm offering some tips on shopping and saving for Yerevan girls. To be continued in another post, soon :)

P.S. The movie gave me an idea to establish an anonymous shopaholics' society :D Who's with me? (oops, did I say anonymous?)