The rise of online shopping in India is not curbing mall construction there.
On the contrary, some 85 malls are anticipated to open across India over the next five years, reports The National.
“There is so much talk of the death of brick-and-mortar retail as a consequence of the aggressive advent of e-commerce into the country, when the fact is that shopping malls have just got started in India — and they are definitely here to stay,” said Anuj Kejriwal, the managing director and CEO of the retail division of Anarock, a Mumbai-based property consultancy, speaking to the newspaper.
The Colonnade, New Delhi About 85 malls are anticipated to open across India over the next five years
Private equity investment in India’s retail sector exceeded $700 million through the first three quarters of last year, amounting to about 90 percent of the total investment over the two preceding years, Anarock reports.
“Overseas retailers are now expanding not just in metros but even tier-two cities, namely Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Jaipur,” Kejriwal told the National. “This has led to mushrooming of malls all across the country. We are definitely not looking at a deathbed scenario here.”
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
