Sonia

NCR lead retail real estate development

The National Capital Region (NCR) is all set to lead the retail real estate development in India, with approximately 78 new shopping malls spreading over 25 million sq ft expected to be operational in the region by 2008.

This statistics provided by global real estate consultant Knight Frank has however warned against the risk of supply exceeding the demand in the NCR market, comprising Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.

Inspite of this growing trend in NCR, favourable location, right retail mix and a well thought out operational and marketing strategy would determine the success of future malls.

Bingo

Innovation is necessary for survival

Malls are considered to be the trendiest addition to commercial real estate in India. But with millions of sq ft. added to mall space in each city, it is feared that malls do not lose their 'zing'.
As Business Standard in an article quotes:

Quote:

According to real estate researchers, over 110 million square feet of space will be available across India for the organised retail industry by December 2008. The retail boom is spreading to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and 361 projects are under way. Of this, 227 are in the top seven cities and the rest in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Besides, 35 hypermarkets, 325 large department stores and over 10,000 outlets are also under development. “The new and upcoming malls must be innovative if they want to succeed,” said another real estate expert. For instance, in Dubai, Mall of Emirates maintains a pocket of minus 2 degree Celsius in the centrally air-conditioned premises. The objective is to offer a different experience to shoppers in the desert city.

If this trend continues, Malls in India must also start experimenting if they intend to be in business in the long run. Therefore, without innovation and concept marketing, it will be difficult for many large malls to survive.