In the last decade, malls have steadily mushroomed all across the country but considering the present day shopping centre scenario, few new malls are slated to come up. What does this actually mean? Is it that India does not need new malls? But considering that there will be many international brands foraying into India, quality realty is the need of the hour. Why then is the Indian shopping centre industry stuck in this ironical situation? Is it walking on a double edged ‘dilemma’ sword? In order to cut through the clutter, Indiaretailing.com spoke to a specialist with experience of running one of the biggest malls in India.
Says Rajendra Kalkar, Senior Centre Director (West), The Phoenix Mills, ” We don’t need new players necessarily. We may need the existing players to sustain themselves successfully.”
“Currently, the Indian mall industry is in a promising space. The existing malls are restructuring and redesigning not only physically but in their approach towards the changing environment. While the demographic distribution does not show steep displacement, it is the evolving patterns of disposable income which is gaining eyeballs in the market in the current scenario. We are no longer bound by the target audience comprising of few spendthrifts, the industry is looking positive for the younger and wider audience,” he adds.
Talking from the shopping centre professional perspective, he says, “The retail and retail real estate industry in India is definitely a lucrative bet for investors this decade. With more and more international brands making their foray into the country, Indian developers are strengthening their foothold, and with a growing market for clutter-breaking new endeavours and initiatives, this industry has immense potential for continual growth.”
Kalkar references High Street Phoenix, Mumbai, which has more than 500 brands under one roof in the mixed-use development model, as an example of an optimal mall model. Within the mall, the structure is divided strategically to ensure maximum revenue realisation. “While we have more fashion brands than food or entertainment, the retailers are divided across the four zones in the mall allowing enough movement across zones leading to great visibility and hence sales for all brands under every category,” he states.
By Shubhra Saini
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