Thursday, April 09, 2009

RETAIL REAL ESTATE STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE

Supriya Unni & Michael Gonsalves
Financial Chronicle

Retail real estate in Pune, which was hitherto a hot property, has started losing its fizz. Cash crunch, falling growth numbers and subdued demand are taking their toll on the sectors. It’s the ripple effect at its worst. Retailers are not able to expand their presence, which, in turn affects mall development.

“Owing to volatile market conditions, insecurity of jobs, there has been a decrease in the number of footfalls in the malls in Pune. The footfalls also vary from location to location and depend on the new schemes introduced from time to time to attract customers,” Kishen Milaney, property consultant, Kaypee Shelters, said. Also, during the present uncertain times, even those who do visit the malls do not necessarily end up buying things, he added.

The city, according to him has about 60 business locations in the heart of the city, as well as in the newly developed residential zones and IT parks.

Over the past 3-4 years, Pune has seen considerable growth in the IT sector, placing it close behind Bangalore and on par with Hyderabad. In the same period, the retail sector has ramped up to introduce a number of malls in response to the increased spending power and demographic changes.

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