India will soon get bigger malls that will also make room for entertainment and services beyond shopping. Well, with malls set to become 30-40% bigger, then newer models of service should not be a problem. Actually, the malls that will come up in India will kind of resemble those in Dubai and the US.
Leading mall developers, including Prestige, Phoenix, DLF, Lulu and Unity, have planned malls spread over more than one million sq ft area, instead of 500,000-700,000 sq ft leasable area. Malls are not seen just as shopping centres and that a bigger space could help change their perception as family centres.
Forum Malls of Bengaluru-based Prestige group has nine malls under construction and the majority of them are over one million sq ft in size. It is adding auditoriums and dedicated areas for social activities and a fulfillment centre for brands in the mall.
The Prestige group is constructing malls in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi.
DLF Mall of India in Gurugram, which is in the planning stage, is likely to be about one and a half times bigger compared to the DLF Mall of India in Noida. The Gurugram mall will be about 3 million sq ft while the mall in Goa will be about 550,000 sq ft, which is double the average retail area of a standard mall in Goa.
Phoenix’s mall portfolio is expected to increase to 14 million sq ft by 2026-27 from 9 million sq ft now, as it plans to deliver at least 1 million sq ft of retail space every year and is evaluating nine markets in India to launch new properties. Its recently opened mall in Indore is spread over 1 million sq ft, as are most of the upcoming malls.
“In addition to malls getting bigger, it is also important for them to have a mixed-use development. Malls with offices nearby are doing better than the standalone ones. More area allows a developer to have a mix of brands, helping them to bring a range of consumers,” said Harsh V Bansal, co-founder of the Unity group, which operates more than half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab.
Dubai’s Lulu group also expects to double its portfolio as it has plans to open malls in Noida, Greater Noida, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad. The company is known for its large-sized hyper markets within the malls and is in talks with the local authorities for large land pieces.
The new retail space top mall operators are adding is expected to come on stream in the next three to six years.
