Ashwin Sheth, Managing Director, Sheth Developers & Realtors Sheth Developers & Realtors has made a foray into the retail sector with the launch of a mall in Thane. Built on a 13-acre plot and spread over 1 million sq ft - three floors of prime retail and leisure space - it encompasses over 240 stores with high-profile tenants. Ashwin Sheth, Managing Director, Sheth Developers and Realtors, shares with CW PROPERTY TODAY his views on the sector and its prospects. There are malls mushrooming a mile a minute in India while in countries abroad developers are less gung-ho about constructing malls. Why is that? The Indian retail market has definitely witnessed a metamorphosis with regard to choices, affordability and convenience for customers. In today's era of 'customer is king', malls are considered as temples of consumerism and the Indian consumer in urban areas has become increasingly brand conscious. Comfort, style, luxury and convenience are expressions synonymous with malls today and pull shoppers to the evolving mall culture. A significant share of young adults to mature adults, from the age of 13 to 55, sport a wide range of branded ware and proactively seek a wide range of products and services that are renowned as well as distinct. Catering to this shopping demand, the many hundreds of malls and shopping centres across the country have boosted the growth of national and international brands, allowing them to reach desired target audiences. Even Tier-II and Tier-III cities are witnessing similar changes in customer preferences and a growing trend in brand loyalty. What has triggered your interest in the retail industry? We have been present in the residential real-estate market for over two decades now. Retailing has seen such a transformation over the past decade that its very definition has undergone a sea change. No longer can a manufacturer rely on sales by ensuring mere availability of his product. Today, retailing is about so much more than mere merchandising, it's about giving consumers the ultimate experience. As Indian consumers evolve, they expect more and more every time they step into a store. Retail today has changed from selling a product or a service to selling a hope, an aspiration and, above all, an experience that a consumer would like to repeat. What is your assessment of India's mall scene? A good retailer-developer relationship is inevitable for the growth of the retail sector. It is one of a partnership; if a right balance is achieved between both, it is a healthy model. This relationship throws up the challenge of discovering and understanding each other's needs, developing respect for each other's businesses, and becoming partners in progress of the overall retail industry of a country. Ours is a relationship where we have tried to achieve a healthy balance by adopting minimum guarantee and revenue share. How does a mall help in increasing the valuation of surrounding properties? With high footfalls but not enough public spend, doesn't it make business sense for a builder or developer to construct a mall just to raise the profile of his other properties? Proximity to a shopping centre has emerged as an important criterion for potential homebuyers today. With the rise of disposable income, home buyers prefer going to malls as these centres offer shopping with convenience. While constructing shopping malls within townships and residential properties can help raise the bar of the overall project, it is also important that a lot of thought is put into the retail offering and tenant mix. As disposable incomes are getting higher, the average shopper is getting younger and retailers are facing another new-age challenge: loyalty. The only way to make them come again and again would be through new attractions like a change in tenant mix, periodic revamp of the mall and organising promotional events. Most important, the tenants in major shopping centres must bring to the property quality goods and services in popular fashion and retail categories that the customer demands. A mall is a habit but to keep a loyal customer base, it has to change its offerings and be dynamic. To share your views on the IT Real Estate situation in India, write in at feedback@ASAPPmedia.com