After remaining tepid for the last few years, the retail real estate market saw a lot of action in May, with global retailers rolling out new stores over 67,000 sq ft. Of that, five stores — H&M, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Vero Moda and DKNY — accounted for 60,000 sq ft.

Swedish fashion brand H&M, expanding into tier-1 cities, has picked up about 27,000 square feet of space in Mohali. “H&M sees great potential for further expansion both in existing regions as well as new regions within India,” said Janne Einola, Country Manager, Hennes and Mauritz Retail.

Zara has taken about 24,000 sq ft on lease in DLF’s Mall of India, in Noida. The Spanish clothing and accessories retailer has become the first apparel brand in India to cross the $100-million sales mark, five years after it set up shop here.

Earlier this month Bestseller A/S-owned Vero Moda opened a 4,000 sq ft store in the Mall of India, taking its total store count to 173, while Italian apparel brand Massimo Dutti made its India debut with a 5,027 sq ft outlet in Delhi’s Select Citywalk mall.

Last week, DKNY opened its ninth store in the country, spread over 975 sq feet. “We are very pleased to strengthen our operations in Delhi-NCR as it is a key market for the brand,” said Timmy Sarna, MD & CEO of DLF Brands, which operates stores for the New York-based brand.

Real estate sources say that for brands to be profitable, they will have to make ₹7,000-₹10,000 per sq feet.

Nevertheless, the flurry of activity is proving to be beneficial for mall operators, who have been struggling with falling footfalls. “It is important to have the right tenant mix. In our case, we have both H&M and Zara in our mall. At least 90 per cent of brands are on a revenue-share basis with us,” says Pushpa Bector, Head-EVP, DLF Mall of India.

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