Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Ltd: Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility with Sound Business Sense

Within a month of its launch, the success of the Condom Bar was evident. It was reported that the bar was attracting a steady flow of customers, mostly young people. According to CITCO, the sales figures of the bar in its first month of operation (May 2007) were Rs. 1.6 lakh, compared to Rs. 31,000 (for the bar that used to be in its place) in May 2006. With the increase in the number of people visiting the bar, CITCO was planning to increase the seating capacity of the bar. CITCO's management was very happy with the early success of its initiative. Initially they were apprehensive that the bold theme of the bar would prevent it from attracting a decent clientele as couples might find the place uncomfortable...

Some people were surprised that a bar like this was started in Chandigarh ahead of other places like Mumbai, the country's commercial capital. Experts felt that this was the case because setting up ventures like this in India was not easy. The conservative outlook toward sex had led to several Indian states banning sex education in schools. It was also not uncommon in India for HIV/AIDS awareness initiatives to attract the ire of conservative groups...