Growing competition in North has pushed the realtors to go for specialty or theme malls to score among plethora of malls coming up in the region. Ranging from wedding malls, malls catering to IT-professionals, mall-cum-hotel to discount-malls, the realtors are unveiling projects based on the requirements of local retailers and business potential.
The spate of up-coming malls in the region seems to have made realtors offer extra something in places like Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Ludhiana , Amristar and Jalandhar where retailers now have more options in shopping malls.
Aerens Gold Souk is cashing on the high potential marriage industry of Ludhiana with the launch of its first wedding mall in Punjab during Diwali this year. The six lakh square feet mall will also house 104 rooms of Ginger Hotels by next year apart from 5-screen multiplex being set up by Cinemax. Of the total around 2.23 lakh square feet area have been marked for jewellery outlets. “The company will set up larger malls with space of over a 1million square feet in Jalandar, Patiala , Mohali and Amristar. Land has been acquired for these projects and formal announcement will be made in the next 3-4 months” , vice-president, Aerens Gold Souk, Gaurav Gupta said. The mall will house Hazoorilal Jewellers, Bholasons Jewellers, Ratan Chand Jwala Nath Jewellers, Classic Jewels, Beyond, Kiah and SR Gems and BC Sen Jewellers.
Omaxe is also expected to complete its wedding mall at Patiala by next year. The company was first in the country to launch a wedding mall at Gurgaon. It will offer services like a wedding planner, a honeymoon tour operator, a marriage bureau, a trousseau designer, designer brands, exquisite jewellery brands, footwear, apparel, F&B, entertainment provisions and also service providers for the music ceremony , floral arrangement to card designers.
Other major developers like Ansal Housing and Construction is investing in the northern region. The company is expected to announce the first housing project in Jammu on 100 acres next month. Also, it is planning to launch first shopping mall in Himachal Pradesh. “Negotiations are on to set up branded factory outlet mall at Parwanoo, gateway to the hill state that will offer goods at discount,” Kushagr Ansal, director Ansal Housing and Construction told FE. He said that the company is coming up with similar projects at Karnal, Meerut and Lucknow along with numerous township projects in the region.