Mall owners to gain from Maya's stand

NEW DELHI: Malls owners may benefit from the UP government’s decision to ban standalone food & grocery stores of corporate retail chains. Though the final picture will become clear only after the five-member committee set up by the state government to look into organised retail in the state submits its report, as things stand now, mall owners should benefit from the ban as the state government has allowed stores in malls to continue. This could result in organised retailers looking at the option of setting up stores in malls instead of standalone outlets.

Almost all prominent Delhi-based developers, including DLF, Unitech, Parsvnath, Omaxe and Ansals are setting up malls in the state. Last year, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (APIL) had signed up Reliance Retail as the anchor tenant for its Ansal Plaza mall in Greater Noida.

At the time of signing, the companies had said that they would look at a long-term association as well. APIL holds one of the biggest landbanks in UP, close to 2,000 acres, mainly in the Noida-Ghaziabad area and Lucknow. In Lucknow, APIL is developing an 8-lakh sq ft mall, adjoining the company’s proposed golf course.

“This is one of the most prime commercial destinations being developed in the region. With the recent development, time might just be ripe for APIL to approach Reliance Retail or some other retailer to strike a deal.” a source said. The APIL spokesperson did not comment.

Observers feel that, Omaxe’s ambitious ‘Connaught Place’ in Greater Noida will also be a prime beneficiary. Both Reliance Retail and RPG’s Spencer’s had maximum exposure in this area. In fact, the Noida-Ghaziabad belt already hosts 20 out of the 30 Reliance Fresh stores in UP, and it plans to expand further in this area. However, Omaxe chairman Rohtas Goel feels that it is too early to make a conclusive comment.

“It’s too early to gauge any impact. We will have to wait and watch, how things turn out to be,” he said. This is not the first time that political developments may end up benefiting mall owners. At the time of the MCD’s sealing drive in Delhi, rentals in shopping malls in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida had gone up by a whopping 40-70%.