Rise of the Malls

In spite of the 'prospect of a lot of 'window shopping' that don't get translated into actual purchases, malls seem to be dotting up skylines in Indian metros and even smaller cities. In fact, Mall growth is being seen as a clear indicator of the economic prosperity in India. Significantly, the number of malls in the country has increased at a fast pace. And they are doing brisk business (chillibreeze white paper).

The potential that malls hold is the reason why Europe's largest shopping mall developer Plaza Centers unveiled plans to develop 50 entertainment and commercial complexes in India during the next 5-7 years with an expected investment of 50 bln. rupees.

Plaza knows if it has to succeed in a market like India, it has to rope in local partners to overcome hurdles on the ground. The Dutch mall builder has already tied up with real estate developer Panchshil and is talking to many more for partnerships. International real estate developers like Plaza Centers are now betting big on the Indian retail space, preferring it even over China. However, much will depend on how well they can execute their plans given real estate is the single biggest challenge that the Indian retail faces at present.

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