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The session on outlet malls at ISCF 2013 was graced by a panel that was
moderated by Sanjay Dutt, Executive MD, Cushman and Wakefield. The rest
of the members on the panel were Vikram Bakshi, JV partner and MD,
McDonald’s India (North and East); S Raghunandan, CEO-Retail, Prestige
Group; Shilpa Malik, Star Centres; Paresh Mishra, CEO-Malls, Runwal
Group; Abhishek Bansal, ED, Pacific Malls; Vineet Gautam, CEO,
Bestseller India.
Bakshi gave the lead presentation on the
history of outlet malls and how they flourished in the US in the early
80s and 90s. Having started as outlet stores in the country, these
stores on the outskirts of cities and with defective or out of season
garments soon became full fledged malls. Today, although they are not as
upscale as regular malls, they are organised and attractive, have to be
easily accessible and rarely offer entertainment like movies or
standalone restaurants. The cost to build such malls is lower, there is
reduced common area assessment and staffing costs,prices are lower and
retailers can clear excessive inventory. Customers are mostly women,
heavy shoppers and brand conscious. Today, Asia has 5.3 million sq.ft.
of outlet destinations and the BRIC countries are in focus.
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Value mall is one of India’s premier outlet malls located at Whitefield
in Bangalore. Being in area where factory outlets are galore, the mall
has a mixed environment of regular and outlet brands with the primary
catchment being gated communities and expatriates. In terms of F&B,
brands range from fine dining to casual dining and even QSRs. Shilpa
Malik is building a mall in Manesar, Gurgaon. She believes that for
premium outlet centres, the population must be brand conscious. The same
kind of styling and branding must be executed at a the same level with
the right kind of F&B facilities. She also said that the timing from
the city centre to an outlet mall should be no more than 45 minutes.
Bansal said that even in tier-II and –III cities, premium locations come
at a price, hence outlet malls make sense. In his mall in Mathura, he
has also ensured that the tenant mix includes local brands. Moreover, he
cautioned that tenants should not seek long-term agreements merely due
to the dynamics of this market.
Mishra is building malls in
townships. These also serve the purpose of being a community centre cum
shopping destination. According to Gautam, these outlets serve as media
to help retailers like himself liquidate extra merchandise; however, he
cautions that e-retailing can give this concept some competition. In
all, the panellists conferred that the sweet spot in terms of size for
outlet malls is between 2-3 lakh sq.ft. The tenant mix should be
balanced between F&B, entertainment and retail.
SOURCE:http://www.indiaretailing.com/news.aspx?topic=1&Id=6974