To spend or not to spend?

At a mall near our office, a new Uniqlo store opened last week.

- GOVINDRAJ ETHIRAJ

The over 18,000 square feet store is the third one in Mumbai and the first in south Mumbai and the 14th in India for the popular Japanese fashion retail brand.

On that day last week, almost everyone in the mall appeared to be walking around with Uniqlo shopping bags, a sign that they had come to the mall pretty much to shop at Uniqlo, at least on that day. The Uniqlo experience reminded me of the recent blowout bookings for Mahindra's new Thar Roxx jeep which received 176,000 bookings within an hour and now has a waiting period that could run into 2026.

Elsewhere, five-star hotels in Goa are full and are quoting at prices which are a king's ransom even before off-peak season. And rates into December, in case you were looking, start at Rs 30,000 or so for the 5 stars and go up to Rs 70,000 per night.

Not surprisingly, Indian vacationers are catching flights to Hanoi, Phuket, Bangkok, and Bali.