Bengaluru-based listed real estate developer Prestige Group plans to develop 9 million sq ft of malls within the next three years, Muhammad Ali, CEO of Retail, told Moneycontrol.
He said that to begin with, Prestige Group is planning its mall expansion in Mumbai and Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region), adding that the company is close to signing a deal in Delhi-NCR, without sharing details.
In 2021, the company sold 4.4 million square feet of retail space in seven shopping malls in 2021, with an estimated value of Rs 9,000 crore. Ali added that currently, the group holds a 15 percent share in the malls.
In June 2023, the company sold two-thirds of its retail business to Blackstone-backed Nexus Malls.
On track to rebrand the mall business
Apart from one each in the national and commercial capitals, the upcoming developments include six malls in home city Bengaluru, two in Kochi, and one apiece in Chennai and Hyderabad.
Prestige said that it's on track to rebrand its malls business with the aim of attracting more international brands and making visits experiential for customers at the upcoming malls.
Ali highlighted that the business of shopping centres is not a game of equals. "Only 38 malls out of more than 500 across India clock a revenue of Rs 100 crore in a month, which is less than 10 percent, thus missing the Big Billion League of malls in India. Our Forum mall in South Bengaluru launched last year and reached Rs 100 crore revenue within 11 months," Ali said.
To be part of this club, Prestige’s upcoming malls, according to Ali, will not only have a destination retail segment but also will include live music areas and cinemas, apart from providing technology-enabled experiences.
Ali cited the Forum Rexwalk on Bengaluru's Brigade Road, which has 14 restaurants and a theatre, as an example. "We have seen an uptick in footfalls without having major stores. And we are looking forward to opening 1.5 lakh sq ft of another such mixed-space development in Whitefield that will have 40 restaurants and a cinema," he said.
Strong retail portfolio
According to the investor presentation in Q2FY24, the latest figures available, the company has an ongoing retail capex of Rs 307.2 crore, and the annual income from the retail segment in FY25 is projected at Rs 280.5 crore.
In Q2FY24, the group clocked Rs 7,092.6 crore in sales, up 102 percent year-on-year. In H1 of calendar year 2023, the company registered sales of Rs 11,007.3 crore, up by 69 percent over the previous year and customer collections of Rs 5,380.6 million, 13 percent higher than a year earlier.
"Post-2022, we saw 40 percent average growth in the retail demand and thus the rentals have also moved up significantly since the pandemic. We believe our repurposed new malls will continue their momentum to reach the Big Billion League of malls in India," Ali said.
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