Magazines Archives - 2009 September

Robust retail activity drive India's retail scene
Story 8 - Focus

With its rapid pace of growth, the Indian retail market — estimated at current prices — is forecast to exceed €296 India’s fast-growing retail market is fuelling demand for quality retail space. Gordon Feller has the details. Robust retail act ivity billion (US$419.05 billion) in value by next year. Organised retail will likely soar to account for nearly 13% of the total market in 2010. This growth will require a greater availability of quality retail space.

Every city in the country is bursting at its seams with shopping-centre activity. If mall space were the sole indicator of growth, India has seen a nearly 12-fold gain in the past five years. Total mall space increased from just about 3.7 million sqf in 2002 to exceed 47 million sqf in 2007. Opening up real estate to FDI (foreign direct investment) has pushed this sector’s growth above 30% per annum.

The country has about 280 shopping centres (including the partly operational) in various formats and sizes. The number is expected to rise to almost 500 by end-2010. Of the new malls being built, 40% are concentrated in smaller cities. The shopping-centre business is slated to become a Rs40,000-crore trade by 2010-11.

By 2011, India will have an additional 280 hypermarkets, 3,200 supermarkets, 400 department stores, and some 1,200 mega speciality stores and category killers, with 20,000 exclusive brand outlets across various retail categories. Malls alone will provide an additional 200 million sqf of gross leasable quality retail space by 2011.

The emergence of modern malls is already beginning to define a new subcontinental lifestyle. There is a huge demand for clean, contemporary shopping and entertainment complexes to house Indian brands and retail formats and offer rewarding shopping experiences for the whole family. Analysts predict that one winning solution will be facilities designed around the Indian consumer that cater for the long-term specific needs of a particular location.

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