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The new supply of retail spaces: Expansion at the forefront

The industry experts converged at ETRetail ShopFwd Summit 2024 to discuss what is propelling the growth of retail, and how brands and malls can collaborate together to felicitate this growth further in a compelling panel discussion.

Indian real estate is expanding at a fast pace along with the entry of various global and homegrown brands. The aspirations of consumers in tier II and III cities are paving the way for new retail spaces.

Highlighting the latest trends driving the expansion of retail spaces, Deepika Khare, national head - business development at Caratlane and Shaya said, "The brands prefer to open their stores at high catchment areas. They also track online sales data to decide the next best store location. Another parameter that holds importance is the presence of like-minded customer profile brands in the vicinity."

Adding to this further, Sneha Jain, BD head, Hidesign said, "It is not a matter of choice between big malls or big boxes, the brands should have the presence where their consumer is. While finalising the store location, the brands should take new retail spaces, and the presence of competition also into consideration."

Bringing in the perspective of malls, Rohit Gopalani, SVP & Head - Leasing, Marketing & Corporate Communication, Inorbit Malls stated, "The way the brand looks at it, we also consider various parameters. Apart from this, post-COVID, we have observed considerable growth in tier II and beyond cities."

When asked about how malls can stay relevant in the coming times, Indraneel Majumdar, Head of Mall, Sarath City Capital Mall said, "The mall should keep on changing their brand mix as per the evolving needs of consumers otherwise they will start losing their relevance."

Whereas on what arrangement works best between the malls and retailers, Anshu Grover Bhogra, Chief Business Officer, Forever New said, "Revenue sharing model works the best. Whatever the brand makes, the mall makes. As a partner, they should grow together."

Source: The Economic Times