Mall Culture in Gurgaon

It has also withdrawn its two- year old directive to shut shops once a week.

Till now, all outlets, except those selling essential com- modities, chemists, health care clinics, restaurants and cine- plexes and those who had sought special permission, had to remain close on Tuesdays in malls and market complexes across Gurgaon.

The 24x7 privilege will require some formalities.

"All those who wish to enjoy this facility simply need to get themselves registered online with the labour department on its website www.hrlabour.org giving basic details, and with no extra cost," additional Labour Commissioner M.R. Anand told Hindustan Times.

"These shops and establish- ment would no more have to apply for special exemption under the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments Act to open round-the-clock for seven days a week anymore," Anand said.

Anand said shops availing the option would have to give at least one leave in a week to its employees in rotation.

Pubs and bars will continue to be governed by excise laws and have to follow the ongoing time schedule of closing at 12.00 midnight and at 2.00 a.m. in spe- cial cases.

 sanjeev.ahuja@hindustantimes.com

All the top retailers such as Future Group's Pantaloon, Shopper's Stop, Aditya Birla Group's More Retail and Reliance Industries' Reliance Retail are expanding their operations, according to real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank India. It is estimated that by December 2010, approximately 2.5 crore sqft new retail space will be developed countrywide, mainly in big cities and lucrative tier II cities, which is 50% more than what was developed last year.

The last couple of quarters have seen some increase in rentals, but they are still 25-30% lower than the peak rates during the boom period of 2007-08. Also, companies are bullish with improved salaries and job opportunities in sectors such as IT, pharmaceutical, finance and manufacturing in big cities fuelling fresh demand in retail space in metros, say industry veterans and analysts.

"We have revived plans but we are not very aggressive," says Rajeev Talwar, group executive director at DLF, the country's largest real estate developer. "Places like Jalandhar and Ludhiana, which have a propensity to spend, will be on radar rather than other tier II and III cities."

He, however, said it will take another 12-18 months for the retail sector to regain its old glory. No wonder, this time retailers are more cautious in their scaling up exercise.

According to Knight Frank India, K Raheja Group, Oberoi and Runwal Group in Mumbai, Prestige and Sobha Developers in Bangalore and DLF, Ansal and Emaar MGF in the National Capital Region (NCR) in Delhi are some of the companies involved in developing retail space. "The fact is that retail is all about location which makes it necessary to find the best location. Hence metros continue to provide an edge over Tier II and Tier III locations," says Vikas Oberoi, MD of Oberoi Constructions.

Source: Economic Times By Maulik Vyas & Supriya Verma Mishra Retailers scale up ops in metros

"Till now, imported liquor could be sold in any outlet with an area of more than 500 square feet. But we feel that sales will go up if we allow them to be sold in shopping malls as buyers of imported liquor do not go to local vendors," a senior excise department official said.

The official said for the licence, departmental store owners will have to shell out a fee of Rs 1 lakh per annum. ``The department will also generate more revenue by issuing licenses to stores in malls as there are about 20 shopping centres in the city," the official said. The government had allowed sale of liquor in stores in shopping malls in 2007.

"In order to promote liquor with low alcoholic content, a new licence in the form of L-10B will be given to departmental stores having an annual turnover of more than Rs 50 lakh per annum on an yearly fee of Rs 25,000 for retail sale of wines on an experimental basis," read the notification.

According to the new excise policy, licence for selling foreign liquor will be issued to only stores which have bought the foreign liquor vend, unlike the previous policy which allowed any one to buy the licence by paying a fee of Rs 25 lakh. The fee has also been increased to Rs 35 lakh.

Announcing the excise policy 2010-2011 recently, the state government said vends of both country liquor and Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) will be renewed at a "reasonable" rate increase of 5% to 10%.

The vends in NCR districts of Haryana including Gurgaon and Faridabad would be renewed at a rate increase of 8%. The government expects the policy to bring in stability in retail trade.

Around 9 million sq. ft of expected mall supply for the year was deferred to the future, due to poor demand from retailers, says the report. Of the proposed 44 malls at the beginning of the first quarter (January-March), about 18 were delivered by the year-end. The overall vacancy rates for the major cities as of December was 17% compared with a 16.7% vacancy rate in December last year.

Mumbai had the largest share of this year s mall supply at 1.8 million sq. ft, followed by Hyderabad (1.1 million sq. ft) and the National Capital Region (NCR) (0.9 million sq. ft).
Bangalore saw the highest mall supply deferment with 80% less mall supply than what was expected.

This slowdown in mall construction need not be viewed as a negative growth indicator for the retail real estate segment, said Jaideep Wahi, director, retail agency, Cushman and Wakefield India Pvt. Ltd.

The current pace is in fact expected to help in maintaining a healthier supply to demand equation, especially for oversupplied micro-markets.

In the fourth quarter (October-December), the highest vacancy was seen in NCR at 27% and Pune at 16%, while the lowest vacancy levels were seen in Chennai at 1% and Bangalore at 3%.

Source: Live Mint By Shabana Hussain 60% SHORTAGE - Fewer malls this year on poor retail demand

Named Neel, the robot was seen helping shoppers at Ambience Mall on an exprimental basis for the past four days. So stupendous was the response that there are plans to hold another such demonstration as a new year's gift to shoppers. The robot, which can walk and talk, was developed by Hitech Robotic Systemz Ltd. From December 23-27, it interacted with shoppers through a touch screen monitor placed on its belly. Shoppers could hear Neel speak using a headphone.

"Whenever shoppers walked up to Neel, it made a note of their names and preferences in categories such as electronics, apparels, jewelry and footwear and informed them in impeccable English about the discounts and deals at different stores," Jai Khatana, a store owner in the mall, said.

Hitech Robotic Systemz said the robot will help make shoppers intelligent choices as it will have information about almost every product available in malls. "Neel was first introduced in Auto Expo 2007, where it demonstrated fully- autonomous navigational capabilities. It can draw a map of an unknown place and travel indoors avoiding obstacles," a company spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said, "To make it more socially capable, we have created its own social networking site where it makes friends with humans and gives them shopping suggestions. Through a real-time web interface, Neel gives a personalized shopping experience to consumers, suggesting the best buys. Neel even remembers previous encounters and greets them accordingly."

The company is planning to commercially launch the robot. "Starting with Gurgaon, we will introduce the shopping guru robot in malls and hotels across Delhi and NCR in another two to three months," the spokesperson said.

Mall developers in India seem to have regained some of the bravura that was punctured by the economic slump that took its toll on the country's retail sector last year. Some developers are reviving projects as the economy gathers growth momentum and rentals start looking up with shoppers returning.

An industry estimate says 15 new malls have been opened in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune in the past three months, and at least 48 more will be opened next year.

Till the end of 2008, these seven cities had 163 malls with 338.6 million sq. ft of space.

The new malls are all projects that ground to a halt a year or so ago. Some 80-85% of some 640 malls in various stages of development were put on hold after the global meltdown hit the Indian economy in 2008. Retail and real estate were the worst hit, and mall rentals dropped drastically, forcing the developers to go slow on projects.

They also reviewed the revenue model and many opted to lease space to professional mall management consultants or work on revenue-sharing arrangements with the retailers, as opposed to merely renting out square feet.

"Mall developers are no longer looking at just a one-time profit," said Nipun Jain, senior manager, consultancy and valuation, at Colliers International (India) Pvt. Ltd, a service provider to property investors and retailers. "Earlier, they sold retail space in a mall in a piecemeal manner and were not concerned with mall management and the success of the retailers. Things are changing."

Source: Live Mint Shoppers drift back, spur mall developers to revive projects

While retailers are now looking to prepare themselves for the next wave of growth that is expected in the next couple of months, the mood is still cautious.

Even as foreign players have slowed expansion plans, domestic players are making haste slowly on the expansion front.

The total store area added by the retail sector in metros and major cities nearly halved over the last 12 months, falling to 3.6 million from 6.8 million sq ft in 2008.

Cash has been a big problem.

Banks have sharply slowed their lending to retail players, driven by fears of asset quality. The collapse of Subhiksha, which was operating 1,600 stores nationwide when it ran out of cash to keep its operations going, was a huge shock.

While the market is abuzz with talk of some more players looking to exit, market leaders in different formats like Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons are hoping to raise funds from the market to fund their expansion plans.

Source: Mail Today Retailers get cautious on growth plans

During our mock drill, CCTV cameras, door frames, and metal detectors failed to spot the firearms that our teams were hiding. As seen from some of the CCTV footage, even frisking was not done in any of the malls, added the police chief. Joint CP Alok Mittal has written to all mall owners in which he has asked them to appoint separate women security guards to frisk women. He has also instructed that the CCTVs installed should have proper recoding facilities and that the security staff should manning door metal detectors and hand-held metal detectors must have mandatory training.

Citing industry experts, the report said the model comprises retailers sharing a percentage of their sales with real estate developers as a way of sharing risks. The move to adopt such a model is seen to be triggered by low footfalls that has been the bane of retailers since some time as well as lower rentals which has been troubling real estate developers during the slowdown, the report added.

As far as the revenue sharing ratio is concerned, industry players say, factors like format, market scenario, clients and type of properties, among other things come into play. "We have been opting for revenue sharing model with retailers in some of our properties. However, the ratio is dependent on several factors including rentals, kind of market, economic scenario, type of client, and type of properties, among other things. For us, the rentals for retailers vary from anywhere between Rs 10 per sq ft per day and Rs 800 per sq ft per day," quoted YK Tyagi, executive director, DLF in the report.

Seconding Tyagi's views is Jaideep Wahi, director, agency, retail services, Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), a real estate consulting firm, who was quoted as saying: "In the last six months the trend of rental revenue sharing model has picked up immensely. Out of every 10 new malls, we can see this trend in about six to seven. The extent of revenue sharing for the developer, which varies from category to category, ranges from 3 to 18 per cent. While it is lower in case of electronic stores, for categories like sportswear and lifestyle stores, the sharing is more due to higher footfall."

According to latest quarterly report by C&W, average mall vacancy level across major Indian cities showed a marginal increase from 17.3 per cent in the second quarter to 17.5 in the third (July–Sept) 2009. Retail rents in major markets also showed a move towards stabalisation in major locations in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune indicating no rental changes over the previous quarter. NCR however, continued to witness correction in retail rentals, the report continued.

Source: Realty Plus Low rentals make mall developers, retailers opt for revenue sharing

DLF Mall of India Project (above) has been postponed, as existing malls (right) fight for footfall

Dubbed the Millennium City for its malls and highrises, Gurgaon is undergoing a slow changeover. Construction, going through a boom phase in the first few years of this millennium, have taken a different turn.

The reason, according to market analysts and experts in the real estate sector, is multifold: the saturation point for malls as many as 32 mall projects were taken up in Gurgaon in 2005-06 opening up of space for builders by Delhi, liquidity crunch, and topped by the slowdown effect.

The result: DLF, a major player in the real estate business, has indefinitely postponed its Mall of India, touted to be Asia's biggest mall-cum-commercial complex. Instead, the company is building "affordable" housing in the new sectors, under Gurgaon's Masterplan 2021.

This is not an isolated case, and experts say the focus would remain on budget housing in the next few years.

Market analysts say developers would rather consolidate present infrastructure than expand. They give at least three years to budget constructions before the focus shifts back to malls.

According to realtors, simple demand-supply economics saw as many as 32 mall projects getting the green signal in 2005-06 alone these are besides commercial complexes and office spaces. By 2012, Gurgaon is expected to have 20 malls operating.

What also put a check on the construction spree, so far as malls are concerned, is that Delhi auctioned prime land to builders for malls. Result: the already limited number of retailers and shoppers opted for the Capital.

• Market Projection: Not So Good
  
• Govt Offering: Good For Low-Cost
  
• Public Demand: More In Low-Income Category

Today, almost two decades later, India's love with shopping malls has resulted in mushrooming of malls. Every city, even small ones like Sangli, Moradabad, Patiala or Madurai have them. In this age of liberalization and consumerism, these malls are the "temples of new India". A place to hangout with friends or even take a visiting relatives too. One thing, which I have noticed is, in most Indian shopping malls, its only 1% who buy something while the rest 99% only go there to hangout. It is all about being seen at the right place. You may buy good stuff at bargain prices at Linking road or Lajpat Nagar market but you would want show off it was bought at a hip exclusive mall.

This Indian love for Mall and mushrooming of mall cities has an ugly side to it too. As malls bloom across Ahmadabad, Pune or Gurgaon, what goes under them are farmlands, protected forests or heritage buildings. I have personally witnessed this "great Indian land grab" in Pune where miles and miles of lush urban forest were deserved. And what stands in it's place? Shopping malls of course! I was aghast when one of my friends in Pune remarked that it was a good thing that forest was not there, as land was being "wasted" and now had been put to good use as a shopping mall!

Gurgaon is a prime example. It has many shopping malls; in fact it is the mall capital of India. But how many museums does it have? How many theatres (drama not movie!) does it have? How many public parks does it have? It is an enclave of "haves" in the heart of "have not's" in rural Haryana leading to social tensions.

Contrast this with desert city of Jaisalmer. It may not have any shopping malls it as anyone will agree, far more living, cultured than Gurgaon. They are far more rooted in soil where people don't live in gated communities named after their American counterparts like "Bel Air" or "Santa Ana".

Jaisalmer has a soul but does Gurgaon have it? I don't think so. Gurgaon is far more a cultural desert than Jaisalmer.

Source: desicritics.org Indian Cities Today: Cultural Desert of Tomorrow?

The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the Excise Policy for 2009-10, which will allow liquor vends to open shop in shopping malls.

These outlets would be allowed to display and sell both Indian Made Foreign Liquor and Imported Foreign Liquor.

At present, liquor in shopping malls is found only in the NCR towns of Faridabad and Gurgaon, both in Haryana.

Mall owners in the city have welcomed the decision.

Arjun Sharma, director of Select Citywalk, a mall in Saket, south Delhi, said: "Buying liquor is not a taboo or a sin and should find space in a shopper's bag,"he said, adding that a mall provides a secure environment, especially to women, to buy such items.

The Cabinet also cleared the proposal to hike prices of country-made liquor in the Capital.

Source: Hindustan Times Licensed To Serve: Malls Will Sell Liquor, New Exice Policy- Country-Made Liquor To Cost More

According to global real estate consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), rentals in the NCR have corrected by about 10 per cent in the first six months over the second half of 2008.

It said the decline was similar to an overall drop of 20-40 per cent from the levels witnessed in the beginning of 2008.

"Prime high-streets and mall spaces continue to be the focus for expansion for retailers as the rentals in these spaces have corrected due to the reduced demand and high rental values," CBRE said in the report.

The consultant further said that in Mumbai rentals are showing correction by 10-15 per cent amidst limited supply of "quality" space on some prime high-streets through the first half of 2009.

The slowdown has forced many retailers to re-negotiate rentals with developers and landlords of several malls and high-street properties, it added.

Source: Realty Plus Rental prices of retail spaces fall by up to 15%: CBRE

विदित हो कि गुड़गांव में सबसे पहला शापिंग मॉल डीएलएफ ग्रुप ने सिटी सेंटर के नाम से विकसित किया था। इसके बाद गुड़गांव महरौली रोड शापिंग मॉल का हब बन गया। एक दर्जन शापिंग मॉल इसी रोड पर हैं। सोहना रोड, डीएलएफ गोल्फ कोर्स रोड, सेक्टर 56 रोड, दिल्ली गुड़गांव एक्सप्रेस वे पर भी शापिंग मॉल खुलने लग गए। जिला नगर योजनाकार अधिकारियों के मुताबिक मौजूदा समय में गुड़गांव मे बीस शापिंग मॉल खुले चुके हैं जो कि नोएडा, गाजियाबाद, फरीदाबाद जैसे शहरों से बहुत अधिक हैं। डीएलएफ ही गुड़गांव में अब तक चार शापिंग मॉल विकसित कर चुका है। नगर योजनाकार विभाग के एक अधिकारी के अनुसार यदि शापिंग मॉल विकसित करने की रफ्तार यूं ही चलती रही तो मास्टर प्लान 2021 के तहत प्रस्तावित 58 सेक्टर विकसित करने की योजना के तहत एक सौ शापिंग मॉल गुड़गांव में विकसित हो जाएंगे। यही कारण है कि गुड़गांव में पर्यटन विभाग हर वर्ष एक अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर का आयोजन कराने को उत्सुक है। जिसको लेकर शापिंग मॉल संचालक भी उत्सुक है। सहारा मॉल के कारपोरेट प्रमुख जेके गुप्ता के अनुसार जिस तरह से गुड़गांव में शापिंग मॉल आ रहे हैं, बढ़ावा देने के लिए अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर के सेमीनार होने चाहिए। उन्होंने कहा कि इस संबंध में सरकार का कदम सराहनीय है लेकिन साथ ही यहां ढांचागत विकास पर जोर देने की बहुत गुंजाइश है। सड़कों को उच्च स्तरीय बनाने के साथ इस क्षेत्र को नो पावर कट जोन घोषित करने की आवश्यकता है। डीएलएफ के प्रवक्ता के अनुसार गुड़गांव में चार शापिंग मॉल है। एशिया का नंबर शापिंग काम्पलेक्स मॉल आफ इंडिया योजना विचाराधीन है। इसके अलावा मास्टर प्लान 2021 के तहत विकसित होने वाले सेक्टरों में भी शापिंग मॉल विकसित करने की योजना है।

गुड़गांव के मुख्य शापिंग मॉल - एंबियंस, सिटी सेंटर, मेट्रोपोलिटन, सिटी सेंटर, सहारा मॉल, ग्रैंड मॉल, सेंट्रल प्लाजा, ओमेक्स वेडिंग मॉल, गोल्ड शूक, रहेजा शापिंग मॉल

Even as demand seems to be returning slowly to the residential space, the retail real estate market continues to look disappointing.

The average vacancy across malls in major cities shot up to 19 per cent during the second quarter (April-June) of 2009 against 10 per cent in the last quarter. It is also expected that over 50 per cent of the estimated mall supply planned for 2009 will be delayed due to slowing construction and deferment of mall space, and also withdrawal of previously-announced retail projects.

According to global property consultant Cushman and Wakefield, the Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) is expected to see the maximum deferment of mall supply in this regard at 3.9 million sq ft, followed by Kolkata at 2.5 million sq ft.

According to the quarterly report by the consultant, this quarter too was marked by subdued retail activity, as retailers continued to remain cautious about expansion. "Mall supply was only marginally higher by 3 per cent from the previous quarter and was recorded at 1.14 million sq. ft. Expected mall supply by the end of 2009 is reduced to 8.55 million sq. ft -- about 50 per cent lower than what was estimated at the beginning of the year," it said.

* Surge in supply

The vacancy rates rose on the back of a slowdown in uptake of mall space and churn among existing clients. This, in turn, prompted a further correction in the mall rentals. Surge in supply but a relatively slower absorption of malls space in the NCR led to vacancy of nearly 26 per cent in the second quarter of 2009. The vacancy level in Mumbai continued at nine per cent, while Chennai in the absence of fresh mall supply and restrained churn witnessed mall vacancy of only one per cent.

* New malls

Source: The Hindu Business Line More malls vacant in cities as retail pace slows

Sign of the times: Rentals in New Delhi’s posh Basant Lok market have plunged 29% in the second quarter, mirroring a countrywide trend.

Modern retailers in India stand to benefit with rentals at malls and high streets across cities falling, according to a report by real estate consultant Cushman and Wakefield.

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“Any reduction in mall rentals is good news, as for us the occupational cost of rentals and maintenance of the store amounts to a significant amount of the revenue,” said C.B. Navalkar, chief financial officer, Shopper’s Stop Ltd.

One reason for the fall in rentals is the amount of space available, yet unoccupied in malls. This increased to 19% of total mall space in the second quarter (April-June) of the year from 10% in the first, according to the report.

Ahmedabad saw the sharpest decline, with rents in malls in some areas falling by up to 39%. Mall rentals in west Delhi corrected by 14% while those in Gurgaon saw an 8% correction.

One reason for the fall in rentals is the amount of space available, yet unoccupied in malls. This increased to 19% of total mall space in the second quarter (April-June) of the year from 10% in the first.

The only exceptions to this countrywide trend were Banjara Hills in Hyderabad and Ghatkopar in Mumbai where mall rentals increased by 8% and 2%, respectively.

Rents for high street retail space, too, fell. Rents in New Delhi’s posh Basant Lok market plunged 29% while those in Kemps Corner and Breach Candy markets in Mumbai fell by 24%.

Source: Live Mint Boost For Retailers As Rentals Fall; More Relief May Be In Store

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Future Group, which operates retail chains like Pantaloons and Big Bazaar, said such a step will facilitate optimum utilisation of the huge railways infrastructure. "This is an announcement which might well prove to be a big boost for growth of modern retail. Besides, the huge real estate of the Railways and its logistics capabilities will help us use the infrastructure as a supply chain," said Kishore Biyani, CEO, Future Group.

Asked if the Future Group is likely to explore the Railway Ministry's proposal, Biyani said: "We have earlier explored the opportunity and we might again look at it."

While presenting the Railway Budget 2009-10, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the construction of multi-functional complexes at stations for providing facilities like shopping, food stalls and restaurants.

"It is proposed to take up development of these multi-functional complexes in different parts of the country at 50 railway stations, serving places of pilgrimage, industry and tourist interest this year," said Banerjee.

Though it comes as good news for most people,some are worried about the traffic chaos it would lead to.

As of now, the mall is being called Jayanti Cinema Hall. It would have a three-screen multiplex, anchor stores, retail brands,hypermarkets,at three level underground parking and other entertainment avenues like a food court, sit-outs and a special play area for children.

"The project would be completed by next year," declared Rakesh (name changed), one of the engineers at work.

Engineers working on the project say they are using all the modern techniques of architecture to construct an `earthquake resistant structure'.

The youth are especially looking forward to it."Now we will have a hangout at least," said Sagar, a high school student.

Sunil, a resident of Sector 4, reacted to the good news in a different manner, "I think now the property rates will soar." The mall would save time of those who earlier had no option but to visit far off places like the Ambience Mall or Sahara Mall, located in New Gurgaon. "The news is good since we'll now get brands without travelling much," said Shivam,a resident of Krishna Colony.

However, many people are looking at the upcoming mall with a different perspective.

"This would surely lead to more traffic jams," said Sarita, a Sector 5 resident. Her fears are not unfounded though.The mall is situated right at the Sectors 4 and 7 crossing,where traffic jams are a regular occurrence.

After HT Live Gurgaon published a report last week on the growing problem of traffic jams in Old Gurgaon, some traffic officials finally showed up to manage the chaos. But the problem still persists. The opening up of Jayanti Cinema Hall will now lead to more traffic jams, until there is a better traffic management plan in place.

An additional 31,846,504-sq ft of mall space will be created across India, according to a report, Mall Realities India 2010, released by retail research group Images in association with the Shopping Centres Association of India, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj and Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) India.The north zone would see the development of 14,790,000 sq ft, of which, Delhi NCR alone is expected to account for 7,645,000 sq ft of mall space. This translates into 45 malls expected in the north zone with 24 in Delhi NCR itself.

"The NCR region is huge in terms of area, and residential areas give way to markets. Malls nowadays are not just about shopping. They are leisure centres, with cinema halls, restaurants, beauty parlours and other entertainment avenues. Only malls with a multi-faceted role to suit every pocket will survive," says Rajeev Talwar, group executive director of New Delhi-based real estate firm DLF.West zone is expected to supply 7,438,504 sq ft through 47 malls. South and east zones would account for 29 malls over 5,865,000 sq ft and 13 malls over 3,753,000 sq ft, respectively.

Says Vikas Oberoi, managing director of Oberoi Constructions, "I think any mall above half a million sq ft will be the order of the day in future. On the outskirts of the city, the size could be over one million sq ft. The advantage of big size is that one can have everything under one roof -- food, cinema, fashion, home wear and personal care. Customers would get a wider choice and they would consider it to be a destination mall."In 2008, 54 per cent of expected mall supply was deferred to 2009-10.

Of the proposed 74 malls at the beginning of first quarter of 2008-09, only 34 were delivered by the year-end. At 9.7 million sq ft, Delhi NCR had the largest share of this supply. The credit crunch hit the developers hard, forcing them to put their mall development plans on hold.

"Construction was put on hold because of lack of funding, but as long as there is demand for residential units, there will be a demand for malls. It's all about the location and positioning of the mall," explains Snehal Mantri, director (marketing) of Banglaore-based Mantri Developers.

The country's retail sector as a whole has been experiencing significant pressures in terms of cash crunch and depressed sentiments.

"Lower or negative revenue growth over last year on same store basis and high rental costs of the stores added in 2007-08 have forced brands/retailers to take a re-look at their real estate portfolio. The main challenge for the sector over the past few quarters has been sustainability," says Tanuja Pradhan, national head (research services), C&W.

Malls across the country have seen a drop of 25-30 per cent in footfalls and 10-15 per cent dip in sales. Mall operators and builders are looking at various options to push profits.

Big retail companies are forging revenue sharing arrangements with mall owners and developers. This is expected to be the model of business relationships between organised retail and property owners in the future. Spencer's of the RPG group, the People Store chain of the Aditya Birla group and independent retailer Vishal have been able to win over developers who have now agreed to lower rents in lieu of a part of store revenues.

Others are looking at various marketing ploys to boost revenues. Automobile company Bhasin Group's real estate arm has announced a theme mall by the end of March 2010 year in Greater Noida (Delhi's NCR). The mall, The Grand Venezia is to be built at a cost of Rs 500 crore. It recreates the ambience of Venice with Italian gondolas sailing through a canal located in the heart of the mall with each shop having access to it. It will have a 1.5 million sq ft shopping mall, an office tower, 2-lakh sq ft commercial tower, a 5-star luxury hotel, lifestyle clubs, gaming zone, multiplex and an amphitheatre.

In Kolkata, Ambuja Housing Development is planning a mall with a 1,000-sq ft butterfly park on the second level, housing 40 species of butterflies.

Besides, there would also be a 4-screen cineplex, entertainment and food courts, banquet halls, 1,500-car parking area and around 200 small and big retail outlets. The mall will also have a 3-4 star budget hotel with 150 rooms to take advantage of the proximity to the airport, although no brands have yet been finalised. The built-up area of City Centre New Town is 6.8 lakh sq ft and the expected date of completion is September 2009.

C&W's Pradhan advises those looking at the retail sector to focus on 5 Ps -- positioning for the brand, pricing for the right tenant mix, packaging for design and interiors, product for the perfect merchandise mix and promotion for malls and brands within malls.

Dharmesh Jain, managing director of Mumbai-based Nirmal Lifestyle, sums up the future of India's mall growth, "At least 80 per cent reduction in mall space is because of slowdown and turmoil in real estate. People who want to enter the business will find it difficult to survive, because the existing ones want to grow bigger. However, I think there will be a shortage of mall space from 2011-12. The economies of scale will come in handy for big malls, the reason why people will be looking for big malls," he says.

For some restaurateurs, skyrocketing rentals despite recession, is a major reason, while others rue the unfulfilled promises of modern facilities and infrastructure made by the builders and developers.

Two months ago, Harriez, a European diner located in Central Plaza in Sector 53, shut shop. Touted as town's sole revolving restaurant, Harriez was set up in June 2007 by a Holland-based company, Fitplaza. Even the gym and spa that offered a Turkish Hamam and hip space for spa parties have packed up owing to "infrastructure issues".

"The initial euphoria over the malls is no longer there, since Delhi now has its own set of shopping and eating spaces.

The footfall at Gurgaon malls has gone down by about 40 to 50 per cent this year," says Saeed Shervani, managing director Shervani Hospitalities.

When the popular book shop-cum-eatery Café Turtle and Full Circle that boasts of a loyal fan-following in Khan Market, opened a branch in Gurgaon, the attempt did not get encouraging results. The place that opened in 2007 shut down early last year.

Source: The Indian Express Delhi the flavour, Gurgoan restaurants lose spice