Vacancy levels at shopping malls in top 8 cities see a small drop
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: PTI/File)
Chennai/Mumbai:Retailers are yet to bite the Narendra Modi government’s bait with most of them continuing to stay cautious on expansion. This was more evident from the mall vacancy levels across top eight cities in the country staying stagnant at the same levels as last year. Also, many developers have deferred their mall plans in the wake of continuing uncertainty from the buyers.
Apart from Pune, which saw some healthy leasing activity, and a few other cities such as Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru, which saw some moderate demand for retail space from apparels and F&B (food and beverage) segments, overall mall vacancy levels remained at 14.4 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal, much as last year, said latest retail report from Cushman & Wakefield.
During second quarter, 3.7 lakh square feet of new mall space was added across the country, which was similar to that in the first quarter. The new supply was mainly from 2.5 lakh sqft mall in NCR and 1.2 lakh sqft residual space in a Kolkata mall.
As many as six new malls planned for Q2 2014 witnessed the deferment to second half of the year, which together accounted for 23.3 lakh square feet (msf).
While 3 malls measuring a total 7 lakh sqft were delayed in Bengaluru due to approval delays, slower construction pace in tandem with low leasing led to deferment of one mall each in NCR, Pune and Hyderabad, the report said.
Stability in demand-supply of mall dynamics has also kept mall rentals at bay. Except Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune where a few micro markets depicted rental variations, most of them were stable, said the C&W report.
“Whilst everyone is aware of the huge potential that exists for organized retail in India and domestic and international retailers are keen to expand their presence in the country, they are awaiting the conducive conditions to do so,” said Sanjay Dutt, executive managing director, South Asia C&W.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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