Towards the year-end, the city could be witnessing emergence of several new retail market hotspots particularly along the suburbs. Apart from reflecting a new buzz in the happening outskirts, this also underscores the shortage of available space in existing malls, most of which are located in the city heart and immediate peripheries.
Even the last retail market report of Cushman & Wakefield pointed it out and observed that ‘continued scarcity of space in the operational malls has boosted enquiries in upcoming malls in Kukatpally'.
The real estate consultancy firm's Retail Snapshot for Quarter 4 of last year noted that large format stores which are rapidly expanding have continued negotiations in suburban locations such as Chandanagar, Attapur, L.B.Nagar and Ramanthapur. Some of the large format stores are likely to be operational in these locations by the end of year 2012, it said.
Most of the present prime retail locations such as Jubilee Hills Road No.36, Banjara Hills and Himayathnagar have negligible ‘suitable supply' that could meet the requirements desired by high-end retailers planning to enter the city.
While stating this, the Cushman & Wakefield report points out that there has been no new mall supply in the city from the year 2010, which also curbed the expansion or relocation plans of some retailers.
The coming months could also witness the demand going up as retailers reduced their space requirements and are actively evaluating space options to be able to operate at preferred locations. Thus, prime locations such as Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills look poised for an increase in demand for small format stores.
At the same time, the needs of some of the high-end retailers, who have been weighing their options in the market for sometime could be catered at the upcoming mall supply in Kukatpally. The 4 quarter of last quarter had some upcoming malls such Majeera Majestic and Manjeera Trinity in Kukatpally and witnessing some pre-commitments, the report underscored.
