Specialty malls give shoppers a global experience

The retail real estate industry is gradually maturing and going towards the next wave of evolution because of the increasing competition from e-tailing. Within this process, there is a need for developing shopping centres that provide a more specialized experience to shoppers with specific needs. Speciality Malls are an emerging category of boutique malls that cater to a particular retail category. 

Malls offering brands of a particular category such as gold, automobiles, wedding, furniture, lifestyle, home etc. are called speciality malls. Simultaneously, malls which offer products of a particular positioning can also be termed as Specialty Malls - for example, malls offering luxury brands can be termed as Speciality Malls. 

Currently, there are very few specialty malls offering focused categories and brands in the country. From the leasing perspective, it is quite difficult to fill in the entire shopping area of only one particular category and at the same time achieve optimal rentals. 

Also, there is lack of sufficient retail players belonging to a particular category who can contribute to achieving the depth and critical mass imperative for the successful functioning of a shopping mall. 

The speciality retail real estate developments that are working successfully in the country belong primarily to the F&B and entertainment category. Such developments include DLF Cyberhub in Gurgaon and Sangam Courtyard and Epicura in Delhi, which are dedicated exclusively to F&B brands. 

DLF Cyberhub not only offers gastronomies of various varieties, but is also acting as a cultural centre organising various art festivals and programmes. As consumers’ aspirations rise in India, they seek variety as well as depth in shopping experiences. 

Therefore, a speciality mall as part of an integrated retail development offering a niche, or products belonging to a particular category, would work well. Also, integrated retail developments help add to footfalls of niche categories, and vice versa. Speciality malls attract targeted footfalls and a regular customer base; therefore, they should be lodged in an ideal location and catchment. 

If there is absence of the required commercial or residential population, then the success of a speciality mall would be doubtful. 

The success of a specialty mall depends on an amalgamation of location, design, ambience as well as demand from consumers and supply of enough brands belonging to that particular category. The conversion rate in speciality malls is high, as a focussed group of consumers who are guided by a planned approach visit them. 

The footfalls may be lower than in a general mall, but the conversion rate would be high - thereby generating enough sales for the incumbent brands Proper research and a structured approach is needed to develop specialty malls, as their success depends upon demand and supply dynamics as well as the financial feasibility of particular categories. 

Theme-based malls attracting tourists and residents alike may be conceptualised in the future, but they would require a unique offering or differentiated entertainment avenues for attracting large footfalls.