The Indian retail market reported strong leasing activity across the country’s top seven cities (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad) during the first nine months (January to September) of 2024, according to a recent report released by commercial real estate management firm, JLL India.
Despite limited new retail space additions of just over 1 million square feet, the market demonstrated resilience, with gross leasing reaching 5.3 million square feet. Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai emerged as the frontrunners, collectively accounting for 59 per cent of the total leasing activity. This concentration of demand in major metropolitan areas underscores the continued appeal of prime retail locations to retailers.
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“Despite limited new retail space additions of slightly over 1 million square feet, the top seven cities witnessed robust retail gross leasing activity totalling 5.3 million square feet in the nine-month period of 2024, underscoring retailers’ strong appetite for prime retail locations.
Fashion and apparel remained the top category with a 37 per cent share, followed by Food and Beverage and Entertainment at 18 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively,” remarked Samantak Das, chief economist and head of research and REIS at JLL India.
As per the report, luxury and bridge-to-luxury retail maintained their momentum, with high-end brands securing 0.15 million square feet of space in the first 9 months of 2024. The majority of this leasing happened in Delhi NCR and Mumbai, with a combined share of 76 per cent. This continued interest from luxury retailers signals a growing trend towards premiumisation and confidence in the spending power of Indian consumers.
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Additionally, the country saw the entry of 20 new international retailers in the first nine months of 2024. More than half of these brands chose Delhi NCR to open their first stores in the country. The report points out that with the influx of quality retail supply and growing demand, international retailers are keen on setting foot in India.
Additionally, domestic retailers dominated gross leasing with a 78 per cent share, leasing over 4 million square feet in the first nine months of 2024. As per the JLL report, Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands are also increasingly leasing spaces in physical retail destinations and have a share of about 7 per cent in total gross leasing. Malls are increasingly becoming popular destinations for India’s D2C brands seeking to strengthen their connection with consumers through experiential retail.
The report mentions that international retailers also showed strong interest in the Indian market, leasing over 1 million square feet across the top seven cities. European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) brands led this segment with a 56 per cent share, followed by American retailers at 23 per cent. Looking ahead, JLL projects that retail leasing across the top 7 cities will exceed 6.5 to 7 million square feet by the end of the year, signalling continued growth and optimism in India’s retail sector.