The Mustafa Experience

A walk through different levels of the mall would be very telling; Mustafa is an organised mess. As Daniel Accioly (2009) notes, “[There is no] sense in having the electronics department right in front of groceries and shoes” (p. 211).  Eight years later, each of these three departments are found on different levels, but such instances of incompatibility can still be found elsewhere; we could not decide which was worse – having baby diapers next to crockeries, or having toilet papers beside prayer items.

life is full of contradictions,

but so is mustafa

With shelf after shelf of merchandise after merchandise, the “surreal placement and positioning…[by] shelf stackers” (Humphreys, 2015) show the disregard for product display in Mustafa. The aisle between such shelves end up being fit for only one. Our visit to Mustafa confirmed the existence of these same shelf stackers – multipurpose racks were carelessly propped against the shelves, possibly after having been deemed too large to be accommodated on them. Perhaps the position of these shelf stackers can be promoted to the level of shelf stacker-cum-pathway liner;  plastic items were arranged along the pathway, seemingly in a bid to display their entire stock of products. Yet, a cursory glance at the floor plan reflects the rightful and purposeful placement of these items. So, the next time someone mentions planned product display in Mustafa, you will know, it may be a thing.