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3.1 million square feet added to retail mall portfolio in Q4 2023, says Cushman & Wakefield Report

India’s retail mall portfolio witnessed an addition of 3.1 million square feet in Q4 2023, predominantly Grade A malls, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad leading the charge with 1.2 MSF and 1.02 MSF of supply, respectively, said a report by Cushman & Wakefield. Additionally, with 5.9 MSF of mall supply commencing operations across top-8 cities in India, year 2023 saw the biggest supply addition in the post-Covid world. In 2019, the same cities had witnessed a new supply addition of ~5.0 MSF of Grade-A and B+ malls. Cushman & Wakefield revealed the numbers in its latest Q4-2023 Retail Marketbeat Report.

Emergence of Grade A Malls

Rentals at prominent mainstreets, which witnessed a rise over the last 4-6 quarters, continue to experience upward pressure across most markets. Overall, the retail space leasing volume across most of the top-8 cities were led by mainstreets, indicating the dearth of space in Grade A malls. As a result, highstreets such as Khan Market, Linking Rd., Galleria market, Banjara Hills, Adyar and many others saw rents nearing or even breaching the pre-Covid rents sometime earlier in the year 2023, the report stated.

Saurabh Shatdal, Managing Director, Capital Markets and Head of Retail, India, said, “Q4 2023 has been a monumental quarter for India’s Retail Segment. With a surge in supply of new malls in Q4, the total mall supply across top 8 cities in 2023 surpassed the highs of 2019 by a nearly million sf. This reflects the strong interest from retailers in entering or expanding into the Indian market, fueled by evolving consumer preferences, shifting consumption patterns and a supportive business environment. We expect this momentum to continue with 2024 poised to be another strong year that will not only further boost the pipeline of physical retail supply but also foster overall economic growth through these commercialization activities.”