Highway Malls Next Biggest Thing in Real Estate

By Vipin Agnihotri

The concept of the highway mall, though new to India is fast catching up with more and more top international brands signing up with developers of these malls. Gurgaon at this moment of time has become the hot spot of malls, also other side of Delhi is coming up with highway malls, namely, the north of Delhi border, Sonepat and beyond.

It is worthwhile pointing that from a handful of malls in the mid 90s, India has more than 100 malls spread across large and small cities. Generally speaking, developers have been experimenting with different retail formats now and then to offer something new to the customers like specialty stores, department stores, hypermarket, but highway malls is the new retail mantra that has caught the fancy of developers right now.

It has come into the notice of The India Street that big developers such as TDI, Ansals, Omaxe Group & Parsvnath Group have already realized the potential of these brands. Brands like Blackberry, Adidas, McDonald’s, Reebok, Provogue, Adlabs have already signed up with the developers for a space in highway malls.

The very fact that these leading brands are eager to be a part of the highway mall culture is because the land cost in metros is high and the return on investment is low as compared to non-metros, hence it becomes difficult for the brands to sustain themselves in the long run.

Another significant benefit of big format highway malls is that zoning can be created with utmost ease. In my opinion, the success of mall culture in Delhi and other metro cities has had a ripple effect in non-metro cities. Also, taking into account the burgeoning purchasing power even in the suburban areas and a change in the lifestyle preferences of the consumer there, developers are optimistic about the success of the project expecting a footfall of more than 20,000 people per day including local residents and highway traffic.

If experts are to be believed, highway malls is the next big thing amongst real estate developers serving as a one-stop shop for those travelling on the highway. There is no doubt in my mind that success of this new retail format can be foreseen with the fact that most of the top national and international brands are jumping in to take a pie in all the upcoming highway malls across India.

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India Mall Boom – Will it lead to a Mall Bust?

By Dr Suvrokamal Dutta

India is all set for a boom in big format malls. It has come into the notice of The India Street that 20 such malls are planned through the country, each covering an area of over 1 million sq ft, are at various stages of construction.

According to sources, in the NCR region, Unitech’s Great India Place is coming up with retail space of 1 million sq ft. In addition, DLF too is building a 1.5 million sq ft mall on 14 acres in Sector 18, Noida.

Theoretically speaking, DLF’s Mall of India along NH-8 in Gurgaon will be a 3.6 million sq ft mall spread over 32 acres. Initial signs are that the Mall of India will have a big entertainment area, big city town squares, perfectly zoned and giving a total retail experience, besides foods and beverage offerings.

If company sources are to be believed, DLF has plans for 1.5 million sq ft plus malls in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Jalandhar, Pune and Hyderabad in the coming years.

Furthermore, Ambience’s Ambi Mall in Gurgaon is a 1.8 million sq ft shopping mall and Omaxe Connaught Place in Greater Noida has a total build-up area of 1.9 million sq ft.

On the other hand, three malls being developed in Vasant Kunj in Delhi who will have a common corridor linking them all. As a cluster, these malls will have a combined space of 1 million sq ft.

“In Mumbai, at least eight malls covering an area of over 1 million sq ft each are being developed,” pointed out Amit Bhanot, noted business journalist based at India. To start with, there is R-Mall at Ghatkopar, and then two 1 million sq ft plus malls have been proposed in Thane. Orchid is planning another one in Dahisar. Then there is the 1.7 million sq ft Nirmal Lifestyle at Mulund, which is by the way half operational.

Talking about Bangalore, at least three malls with 1 million sq ft of space are under development. Ludhiana will soon have a 1.6 million sq ft mall by Today Homes. In terms of statistic, India is presently estimated to be a $230 billion industry, of which organized retailing makes up 3 percent or roughly $ 7 billion. Organized retail is expected to grow at the rate of 25-30 percent per annum and is projected to attain a size of $23 billion by 2010.

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