The top 7 cities in India have around 41 million square feet of retail complexes planned for operation between 2024 and 2028, providing a substantial supply for the physical retail industry. Projects that are either in the process of being planned or are now under construction make up this supply. The overwhelming portion is expected to go to Delhi NCR (34%), with Chennai (20%), Bengaluru (15%), and Hyderabad (15%) following.
Big international institutional investors are still using brownfield and greenfield development platforms to purchase or invest in retail assets. Approximately 24% (9.7 million sq ft) of the new supply that will be delivered over the next five years is now held by these investors.
Stable economic conditions have fostered the growth driven by spending, allowing merchants to expand their footprints and announce the opening of new malls. In addition to having a robust supply pipeline, mall developers are concentrating on creating bigger malls to provide customers with an improved shopping experience.
“Prominent real estate developers have announced plans to open retail complexes in India, buoyed by the country’s improving economic conditions. A significant amount of the future supply will come from institutional players. By the end of 2028, the 91 million square foot operating stock of retail projects is predicted to have grown by 45% to 132 million square feet. To further diversify the retail portfolio, there can be further purchases once India’s first retail-led REIT launches in 2023. The retail sector is expected to grow at a greater rate since the majority of international institutional investors have established retail development platforms with important developers.” stated Dr. Samantak Das, head of research and REIS at JLL in India and chief economist.
2023 witnessed the launch of notable malls.
In 2023, 16 retail complexes totaling 6.2 million square feet of gross leasable area went online, a year-over-year increase of 125%. Notably, institutional funding was present in 44% (2.7 million sq ft) of the newly constructed supply that went online in 2023. Mall projects that were built in 2023 had an average size of 389,900 square feet, up 41% from 276,800 square feet in 2022. Larger malls are being built by developers to provide customers with an enhanced experience in fashion, food and beverage, or entertainment. stated Rahul Arora, JLL’s head of retail services and office leasing advice for India.
persistently building new stores and making pre-commitments.
8.7 million square feet of gross leasing in 2023 was reported in the top 7 cities spanning malls and well-known high streets. Bengaluru has the highest percentage of gross leasing at 33%, followed by Delhi NCR at 18% and Mumbai at 17%. Retailers are expanding their shop networks and revenues by leveraging the confidence of their customers.
40% of the overall lease volume was accounted for by the fashion and apparel industry. Leading retailers are developing new formats and growing in the super value and value fashion categories, which have shown tremendous traction.
F&B (16%), entertainment (13%), home & furnishing (6%), and daily necessities & groceries (5%), were the other main contributing categories.
In 2023, a total of 14 foreign brands made their way into India; in 2022 and 2021, there were only 11 and 8 brands, respectively. The majority of this year’s new entrants—eight brands—opened their first locations in Mumbai, then Delhi NCR, with the F&B category ranking highest.
