Boulders Shopping Centre holds its own in spite of glamour rival Mall of Africa

● Midrand’s much-loved Boulders Shopping Centre is regaining ground, and surviving competition from the Mall of Africa.

Boulders has served Midrand, in Gauteng, since 1992 and was considered one of the most popular shopping centres in SA for decades among middle- to lower-income shoppers. It is also a heritage site, with huge granite rocks about 3.5-billion years old.

After years of success including a revamp in 1996, its existence was jeopardised when the largest shopping centre in SA opened nearby. Mall of Africa, with 131,000m² of leasable space and valued at about R4bn, opened on April 28 2016. This mega-mall houses the same upmarket stores found in Sandton City and Hyde Park Corner as well as retail brands that appeal to middleincome consumers, so its offering is far more diverse than that of Boulders.

Mall of Africa was designed to attract a wide range of people by living standards measure. More than 123,000 people visited the mall on opening day. In the first 11 months of trading, it posted sales of R3.4bn and attracted 13-million people. It is owned by Attacq and was built to appeal to people living in Midrand, Fourways and Sandton.

Boulders, which is much smaller at 48,890m² and worth about R844m, is geared towards commuters and a lower-middleclass and working-class clientele. It had maintained its loyal customer base, said Redefine Properties, the mall’s owner.

It is one of Redefine’s 10 largest retail assets and is valued higher than Maponya Mall, which is worth about R795m and is about 36,500m².

Boulders’ comeback has gained momentum in 2018 and it is showing strong metrics.

Nashil Chotoki, national asset manager: retail for Redefine, said Boulders had one of the lowest vacancy rates of any mall in SA.

“Post the curiosity from Mall of Africa, the Boulders Shopping Centre has clawed back lost ground,” he said. “The vacancies within were mainly from the broader impact of a slowing economy and the certain failure of national department stores, which was an industry issue and not specific to Boulders.

“Boulders … is well located within the node and in close proximity to the taxi rank. We ensured that the mall’s positioning is correct for the commuter market within the Midrand central business district.

“This has enabled us to fill the vacancies, resulting in a projected vacancy rate of 1% by end-November 2018, which is also well below the benchmark of 3.4% for similar category retail assets as measured by MSCI as at March 2018,” said Chotoki.

The Virgin Active at Boulders remains one of the brand’s most popular gyms.

Keillen Ndlovu, head of listed property funds at Stanlib, said Boulders’ vacancies might be low, but its turnover would continue to come under pressure because economic growth was still subdued.

“Boulders mall caters for the low- to middle-income market. However, the new Mall of Africa, which is close by and has a wider and an aspirational offering, is proving to be big competition for Boulders.”

Mall of Africa, which is close by and has a wider … aspirational offering, is proving to be big competition Keillen Ndlovu

Head of listed property funds at Stanlib