BackDLF to renovate its south Delhi mall, 70% of brands to be replaced
DLF Place, after the makeover by April next year, is expected to accommodate as many as 160 brands
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New Delhi: DLF Ltd. will start the renovation of DLF Place, its mall in south Delhi, before the start of the festive season this year to make the shopping complex more holistic and relevant to today’s consumers, said Pushpa Bector, executive vice president and head of DLF Shopping malls.
The 10-year-old DLF Place currently houses about 120 stores. However, after the makeover by April next year, the mall is expected to accommodate as many as 160 brands and at least 70% of the current brands will be replaced by new labels to give the complex a new look and vibe. Bector said the complex will host several food and beverage brands along with a few popular international apparel brands making their way into the Indian market. “There will be new brands coming in, which will be much sharper with smaller store sizes. That way there will be a wider range," she said.
L C Waikiki, a Turkish multi-cultural apparel and accessories brand, and Under Armour Inc., an American sportswear brand are among the many brands the mall will host after the revamp.
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The retail mall space in the country is already experiencing shrinkage in supply. According to a report by real estate consultancy firm JLL India, 2017 witnessed the withdrawal of nearly five million square feet of retail space with the closing down of 28 malls in the Delhi-NCR and Mumbai regions. The report said that further rationalisation of existing mall spaces can be expected which will help the market avoid an oversupply situation, creating the necessary balance to maintain the rental values.
Shubhranshu Pani, managing director retail services at JLL India said the DLF revamp will allow the mall to charge higher rentals. “Shopping complexes that are 9-10 years old cannot command the rents at the current market price because the look and feel is not the same as the new malls," said Pani. “This is a good opportunity for DLF to redesign the internal space," he added.
Ankur Bisen , senior vice president at retail consultancy Technopak India, said DLF Place came into existence when the concept of malls was just starting to pick pace in the country so the number of outlets and planning of the space is very different from what the tenants and store owners expect now. “A lot of retail narrative has changed with technology coming in. Store sizes have gone through changes across the various categories. Also, multi-brand outlets are now moving to residential localities instead of destination malls like DLF," said Bisen.
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Bector said the cinemas in the mall will witness a transformation as well. She said Cinépolis, a Mexican chain of movie theatres, will replace the current DT cinemas which is DLF’s home brand of movie theatres. “I view it as a partnership where DLF is getting an expert on board. DLF has its own cinemas but maybe it has realised that there are bigger players that have now emerged so this partnership (with Cinépolis) is a good opportunity," said Bisen.
According to JLL , the brick and mortar form of retail as a sector is pegged to grow to ₹ 1 trillion by 2020, at a CAGR of about 15%. “Despite the onslaught of new retail formats like e-commerce, tele-marketing and others, we will continue to see a steady growth in brick and mortar," said Ramesh Nair, chief executive officer, JLL India.
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