Developers to add nearly 25 mn sqft mall space in 7 top cities

NEW DELHI: Driven largely by rising consumption, the rebound in Indian retail market has been exemplary in 2022 and is impacting retail real estate across the country, said a joint report by real estate consultants Anarock and Retailers Association of India (RAI).

Buoyed by the growth, developers now plan to add nearly 25 million square feet of new mall space across the top seven cities over the next 4-5 years, said the report.

It said NCR and Hyderabad account for nearly 46 per cent of the total new upcoming supply, closely followed by Bengaluru at 19 per cent.

Back in 2022, the top 7 cities added over 2.6 mn square feet of mall space which was 27 per cent more than the preceding year (2021).

“The festive season, devoid of restrictions and any fear of contagion, was exemplary with record high volumes and sales value,” said Anuj Kejriwal, CEO-MD, Anarock Retail.

“Sales value estimated during the festive season in late 2022 was Rs 2.5 lakh crore, nearly 2.5 times compared to the previous year. The revival of consumer sentiments and penchant for consumption is therefore being promptly acted upon by the majority of brands, retailers, and mall developers. The new planned mall supply across the top 7 cities is testimony to the developers’ expansion strategy.” “Further, the retail market size is expected to touch $2 trillion by 2032, growing from $690 billion in 2021, facilitating the organised retail sector to grow at 25 per cent CAGR.”

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said: “The report also highlights that the Indian retail sector attracted around $1,473 million between 2019 and 2022, of which 76 per cent of total investments came in 2019 itself. Among the cities, Hyderabad and MMR accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the total PE investments in the sector.”

“Data further indicates that back in 2022, the top 7 cities added nearly 2.6 million square feet of mall space during 2022, which increased by 27 per cent over the previous year (2021),” he said.