Galleria is the self proclaimed “”Mini Department Store” at the newly opened Arcade Independence Square. They’ve got a good selection of globally renowned brands, but don’t expect the stuff to be cheap.
Apparel
If you’re looking for the likes of Giordano, Dockers, Amante or Nike, and you hate the thought of having to drive from one part of Colombo to another just to check out what’s on offer, then Galleria is just the place you’re looking for. They offer casuals from the likes of Levis and Giordano, formal wear from Ekko and Dockers, and sportswear from Nike. As you would have probably guessed already, these big name brands don’t come cheap, with the general pricing being Rs. 1500 upwards. In all honesty though, we feel the pricing is fair enough since you know the quality will reflect the price.
The range of items on offer from each brand is also quite good with 2/3rds of the entire area being occupied by the above mentioned brands, so it’s not like they’ve got just a couple of shelves to go through. What we noticed though, was that the women’s options were fairly limited when compared to what the men had available. Unfortunately there isn’t much on offer for kids below the age of 17, which is a shame since that would have covered the entire spectrum.
Shoes, Fragrances & Accessories
If you’re looking for formal footwear or footwear in general, Galleria may not be the best option for you. Their selection is limited to what Nike has on offer, which is mostly sports footwear and a few casual options. That being said, their sports footwear in itself has most of the options you’ll find at any flagship store.
We were glad to see The Parfurmerie in the mix as well. While the range of products isn’t as extensive as their store at Majestic City, they’ve still got a very respectable selection, which I suspect are their top sellers.
Personally, one thing I was excited to see were the watches which were on offer. They had boutique brands like Michael Kors, Skagen and Emporio Armani which are pretty difficult to find at conventional watch stores, with all the contemporary styles like chronographs, divers and aviators.
Ambience & Service
There’s a saying that you can’t go wrong with white, and whoever picked out the colours for Galleria must have been a fan of that saying, because the interior is almost entirely white, which works well with the almost hardwood like floor. Overall, the store has a simple, yet sophisticated feel to it which we appreciated.
The Arcade has only been open for about a week now, so we were pretty impressed to see quite a number of customers already frequenting Galleria. The employees were professional, very polite and seemed to enjoy their work. Specific individuals handled the different brands, which means you generally won’t find clueless employees.
Conclusion
Galleria offers more than 15 big name brands under one roof. We like what we’ve seen so far, with an impressive selection, well equipped staff and a classy space. As to whether they are able to maintain these standards in the coming years, only time will tell.
