HYDERABAD: Hyderabad, which is witnessing strong demand for commercial real estate, is set to get more malls in the near future as realtors see a bright future for a business in multiplexes along with retail space in the coming days.
Developers are planning to offer a new mall supply of 5.5 million sq.ft in the locations such as Miyapur, Jeedimetla, Moulali, Nallagandla and LB Nagar. The strong growth in consumer demand driven by thriving commercial and residential developments is also expected to boost retail activity in these locations in the coming quarters.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, in the last quarter, Hyderabad recorded one new mall completion of gross leasable area 3,00,000 sq ft in the prime submarket of Kukatpally (Ashoka Golden Mall). The mall commenced with 70% occupancy levels. With robust leasing activity, the city’s mall vacancy remained stable at 18.5% from the previous quarter.
During the last quarter, (Q3 of 2022), Hyderabad recorded around 4,00,000 sq ft of leasing across malls and main streets, registering a staggering growth of 81.8% over the previous quarter. Leasing in the city was primarily driven by Ashoka Golden Mall commencing operations at Kukatpally and a few standalone projects starting their operations at prime high streets across residential locations such as Chandanagar, Manikonda, Khajaguda and LB Nagar.
The growth in retail space was attributed to expansion by popular home-grown retailers such as Kalamandir, Neeru’s, Cafe Niloufer, Narsing, Paradise and others. In addition to this, malls such as Sarath City, L&T Malls, DSL, GSM and Ashoka Golden Mall witnessed good traction, together accounting for 31% of total leasing activity during the quarter.
Both pan-India and domestic brands as well as international brands were active in mall leasing. Apparel and clothing segment remained the leading demand driver (41% share), followed by sports goods and jewellery brands (13% share each) in malls and main streets.