The inaugural session and the keynote address of ISCF 2014 was titled “Five of the World’s Top Malls in India by 2030 – a Vision to Make it Possible.” The chairman address was given by Arjun Sharma, Chairman, ISCF 2014; Director, Select CITYWALK and MD, Select Group, following which there was a discussion between Irfan Razack, CMD, Prestige Group, Ajit Joshi, MD, Infiniti Retail (Croma), Atul Goel, MD, Fun Republic, E-City Real Estates. The session was moderated by Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, JLL.
Key points that were covered in detail and thrashed out were learnings from last 10 years of India’s Shopping Centre Environment and Top 5 strategies for having 5 of the world’s top malls in India by 2030, retail and shopping trends for 2030. The 3 most likely scenarios that can play out if the concept of shopping centres were to undergo a complete change.
Sharma, in his keynote address, spoke mainly about how many new jobs will have to be generated by 2030, the required capital investment to meet the demand in cities. India, according to him, would also require 700-900 million square metres of commercial and residential real estate needed, which converts to a new Chicago each year. The number of roads, metros and subways that would be required in 2030 would be 20 times of the current number.
Puri triggered the discussion by asking what challenges would be faced by the retailers in the next 16 years. Ajit Joshi answered saying : “It would be possible to create such infrastructure that would encourage retail. There are developers who are already doing that.
Talking about challenges, he said he was not worried about the challenges coming his way. But he also said that developers and retailers would have to work together to face the threat of dot com business. “Omni-channel is the way to go,” he added.
Speaking about financing and land that are two most important components for any shopping centre, Irfan Razack, said there would have to be challenges and a need to recreate what was outside the country to be recreated here. “Airports are getting better and so are malls. For real estate, there needs to real and excellent mix for a good chemistry,” he stated. “It is not always about each component to be churning money but for the entire mix to be wholesome. Properties have to be created with the mindset of making something unique for the next 20-30 years. “What we lack in India is a tourism quotient. Whenever there is a customer coming into your retail outlet, how is it that we are getting a bit of India into your Shopping centres? This is the question that needs to be answered and it requires introspection,” he added.
Atul, speaking on where multiplexes would be by 2030, said that there would be a surge in digital home viewing; however the cinema industry would be unaffected. “There would be a significant increase in the number of multiplex screens to about 20 thousand. Down south there are still a lot of single screen talkies. These would transform to multiplexes,” he said.
For a detailed coverage and intensive interactions with our key speakers, watch out for the next issue of Shopping Centre News.
