Retail rentals at DLF’s marquee properties have risen by 25-30% post-pandemic on the back of sustained footfall and demand for quality space. The company is on track to establish its first premium mall in Goa. The retail assets of DLF come under its rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers, where it holds 66.67% stake, with the balance held by Singapore’s GIC. Pushpa Bector, senior executive director and head of DLF’s retail division shares the company’s strategy to stay ahead of the curve in the coming years, with Bindu D Menon. Excerpts:
Q. How has the recovery been in the retail business post-pandemic?
A. The recovery has been positive and sustained. We are witnessing good footfall in all our malls. DLF’s current retail assets include six premium and two luxury malls. Our occupancy level is almost 98%. Luxury retail is also doing well and we anticipate that the trend will continue. Spends per footfall have gone up as more people discover digitally but shop offline.
Q. What about the theatres and food and beverages business?
A. Since May cinema occupancy has grown by 28-30%. This had a direct impact on F&B and footfalls. Every time, there is a successful movie launch, footfalls are high. Malls are a destination outing. With the upcoming festival season, we are anticipating a huge footfall and resultant sales translating into 20% revenue.
Q. Have the rentals gone up post pandemic?
A. Our retail rentals are heading north and have gone up by 25-30% in post Covid recoveries. There are 112 new brands in Mall of India alone. There is waiting to enter our malls. The market is still under served and we see a rise in rentals in coming quarters too boosted by high consumption.
Q. Any new markets where you want to enter?
A. DLF’s growth will be largely centered around Delhi-NCR region. We will also open our first premium mall in Goa by 2025. Our current retail footprint stands at 4.5 million sq feet. We are looking to enhance it by 6.5 million sq feet by 2025. We are also looking to set up neighbourhood plazas and destination malls. We have two such plazas coming up in Delhi. We are also setting up office amenities in our commercial/office buildings. These will be 100,000 sq feet in size and will be flexi-spaces housing banks, creches, food and wellness businesses. We are looking to set up 4-5 such spaces by next year. Delhi and Chennai is where we are looking start this format. DLF Emporio expansion plans are also on the anvil which will further strengthen our luxury portfolio.
Q. What is the overview on the revenue from the retail business for the current fiscal?
A. This year we are looking at a 16-19% increase in our business from retail portfolio largely backed by rentals.