The mall mystery

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: The suburbs and exurbs of all our towns are witnessing a glitterati opening every day and malls are moving towards suburbs, tier II and tier III towns. Never mind recession, inflation and the presence of numerous other malls in the city. Perky singers, celebrity launches, weekend events and people in all the shops in the mall and all look positive.

Recessions come and go and malls are not made for just immediate consumption, but are long-term structures with extended plans for customers. According to industry estimates, by the end of 2008 about 900 lakh sq ft will be available through 263 malls in the country.

‘Smaller towns—bigger growth’ is the mantra and retailers are upbeat about this. Growth has shifted beyond location. Getting the crowd pullers, the anchors—the big stores that retailers count on to serve as magnets for customers —is very important for mall owners in these tier II and tier III towns. Customers are so used to best experiences wherever they go, and the expectation is beyond just a shopping experience. The operative word is indulgence and mall owners in the suburbs are not turning their face away from it.

Where smaller towns, style and spends used to be considered oxymoron, they gel very well today and it is this change in the shopping culture and phenomenon that has allowed mall owners to brave what were known as the secondary territories. After all, malls have taken the role of ostensibly contributing to the social setting. Exurbs are no exceptions to this. Exurbs by definition are residential areas beyond suburbs and prosperous residential area outside a city, beyond the suburbs.

Is the decision of taking up projects in tier II & III towns easy and welcome? For many it is a forced decision, but the reasons are many and make better business sense. So, why not go for it?