rakesh

The enterprising and hardworking people of Punjab deserves the credit for showing the way to abundance and prosperity with the ‘green’ and ‘white’ revolution. The land’s plentiful harvests have also meant plenty of money in the pocket and there is no doubt that farmers of Punjab are relatively more well off and with more disposable money to burn, the people of Punjab have been seeking avenues to do so, thereby fuelling the retail boom in the State. With money to splurge, and brands to buy, can the Mall culture be far behind?

Punjab, over a short span of time has seen the foray of several developers with blue prints of upcoming malls thereby adding an unprecedented dimension to the Retail Boom in Punjab.With 2 operational malls in 2005, there is going to be a twelve fold increase by the end of 2006, with 9 malls to come up this year.

Some of the cities and towns where developments are planned include Ludhiana, Mohali, Jalandhar and Amritsar, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Khanna, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, Ferozepore, Ropar, Faridkot, Muktsar, Moga, Bathinda, Rajpura, Mansa and Sangrur.

varun

Punjab has been consuming more than most other states, and is significantly higher than the all-India average in almost every retailing category which includes food and beverages, footwear, clothing and communication.

With the highest per capita income in the country, that is nearly three-and-a-half times the all-India average, an excellent infrastructure to promote new industries and support the existing ones, coupled with high percentage of employment, Punjab stands second to none in fast becoming a favoured destination for the retail industry....

No wonder, investors are quite keen to tap this huge consumption potential in the state. The mood is thus, extremely upbeat as far as the retail options in Punjab are concerned.

But what concerns me is the cities of punjab are doing not as well as it ought to....

varun

Malls are pouring in Ludhiana one after the other with nearly 15 others are all set to come up on different roads in a span of two to three years. A large number of these are on the Ferozepur Raod and on the GT Road on the Ludhiana Jalandhar Segment. The largest mall in the city will be in the western part of the city- the Ludhiana City Centre of the City’s Improvement Trust and which is coming up on a huge 26 Acre site.

The investors are playing safe in ludhiana... but i dont hear much about ludhiana when i read articles abuot realestate... I wonder what is stopping its popularity ???

suruchi

yeap.. i have also read and heard about the developments in Punjab..

Constuction of Malls and townships in cities like Patiala, Jalandhar and Mohali..but what about the property prices? i think is on much higher side..

manpreet

Over the years, this planned city has been luring the best of professionals from all walks of life and from every nook and corner of the country. This has fuelled the rise of property prices in the city. The retail activities have also shown a parallel high rise in the city’s development graph with around 8-10 mall developments are known a few of which are coming up in the famous Sector -17 market.

Even various IT comapnies are changing their face forward to chandigarh still the chandigarh realty market is not enough prosperous...

i dont hear punjab govt. doing anything in favor to promote the blooming realty sector or is it ????

abhi

The govt. is also concerned about the development ...

Besides leading cities, the highways running through the state are of special interest to investors given the spending power of Punjabis, especially non-resident Indians (NRIs).A number of multiplexes, hotels and shopping mall projects have been approved by the government along highways - particularly the National highway No. 1 (old Grand Trunk Road) between Ambala and Amritsar as well as other highways linking Chandigarh with leading cities. The promoters of these highway shopping malls are eager to cash in on thousands of motorists, who travel on the highway daily.

There are much to come as future challange for punjab ....

abhi

Punjab is all set to experience the phenomenon of a major retail boom, representing a grand opportunity to all the retailers at large to exploit its huge consumption potential...

However, there does seem to be an oversupply in most cities and the competition will heat up...

The challenges for mall owners lie in not just roping the top-brands, but also retaining and sustaining their presence. The success of malls in the long run would depend on number of real customers generated as opposed to mere foot falls created. Apart from strong and reliable infrastructure, a right tenant mix needs to be ensured as also strategies that prove profitable for the tenants. The challenge here lies in attracting the middle-class and rural customer, who will look for better options not just in variety but in pricing as well. They will only succeed if the price factor is taken into consideration of whatever products are being sold, in direct proportion to income level of the masses, in and around the area. The developers that have a vision understand what it takes to setup and manage a mall will survive while those looking for a quick buck will surely bite the dust....

abhi

the state has also plans for SEZs in some districts