Premium mall rentals soar on rising demand
MUMBAI: DLF Place, a popular premium shopping mall at Saket in south Delhi, is set to come back in November with a new look—and higher rents—after a six-month renovation.
Owned by India’s leading real estate developer DLF Ltd, the mall will be relaunched as DLF Avenue.
Monthly rentals in the 516,000 square feet mall are expected to shoot up two-fold from its earlier rate. With the mall having been revamped to accommodate more eating outlets, stores and shared office spaces, a slew of international brands, including Japanese apparel firm Uniqlo and French sportswear brand GO Sport, have already lined up to set up shop there.
“95% of retail space in the mall is already leased out and we have doubled the monthly rentals,” said Pushpa Bector, executive director, DLF Shopping Malls. According to her, revamping the mall has enabled
RENTS IN SOME OF THE MARQUEE MALLS HAVE JUMPED THREEFOLD, PARTICULARLY WHERE THE OCCUPANCY RATE IS OVER 90%
the company to “unlock the real value of the property” that has seen rising demand for retail space from various brands over the last few years. At present, rents on the ground floor of the mall (the most sought-after space) can go up to ₹350-400 per sq. ft per month.
The DLF experience shows that even as several malls in India continue to face survival challenges due to poor management and the growing popularity of e-commerce, a handful of high-end malls hardly have any vacant spaces. Rents in these malls have skyrocketed in the last year, as demand for premium space from both international and domestic brands continues to rise, according to mall developers and real estate experts. Online retailers that have opened standalone stores or small touch points in the offline space are also adding to the overall demand for retail space.
According to data compiled by property consultancy firm JLL India, rents in some of the marquee malls have jumped threefold, particularly in properties where the occupancy rate is over 90%.
On a pan-India basis, malls with over 95% occupancy have seen rents rise 6%, against an average 2% growth across all malls, showed JLL’s September report.