Naiknavare’s projects seem to be a perfect blend of Am­erican concept and Indian style.

“We

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are investing Rs 105 crore in four locations in Pune and later in Goa in the new concept shopping mall called Town Square Shopping Centre”, Hemant Naiknavare, director, Naiknavare Developers, told FC Estate. He said 60 per cent of the capital will be from internal accruals and the rest will be raised as debt from banks.

Till date, he said, retail malls in India were based on the popular American concept with a prime focus on high-end brands. “These places remained out of bounds for most buyers and therefore, we decided to launch these neighbourhood shopping centres that would bring the ordinary kirana shopkeeper, the vegetable vendor and the tailor from the regular market into the community mall”, Naiknavare said.

The company has roped in Michael Lloyd, an international shopping centre expert from Australia, as a consultant for the project. “For the first time in India, grassroots retailers will be offered space in modern shopping centres,” he said.

About 90 per cent of the space in these malls will be leased out to local retailers and shopkeepers. “Initially, we will build four such neighbourhood shopping centres in Pune. The centres in fast-developing Hadapsar will have a 100,000 sq ft area, Vimannagar, and Chakan and Baner will have 45,000 sq ft area each”, Naiknavare said.

In the first phase, about 100 units of various sizes will be ready in three months at Vimannagar. A second, multi-level Town Square Shopping Centre, being developed at Hadapsar will be opened within six months. The Chakan and Baner shopping centres will be up and ready for operation within a year.

These centres, he said, are being designed, leased, managed and marketed for the community, catering to their day-to-day needs, as distinct from offering high-end, branded, luxury merchandise for a small section of the market.

Naiknavare said all the spaces in these malls will be leased out and cannot be sold. The lease period ranges from seven-eight months to three years. “Depending on the location and size, rentals will range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 200,000 a month with three months’ rent as deposit”, he added.

“It’s a new concept in terms of positioning. As such, there are hardly any organised developments, which cater to a need like this.

But I don’t think there is a huge demand in this as the shopkeeper normally wants to buy the asset and not lease it”, Mayank Sharan, manager, retail, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, an international property consultant, told FC Estate.

Moreover, the local retailers, he said, were finding footprint in the proposed mega malls space in the city. “So right from 300,000 sq ft malls to 10,00,000 sq ft mega malls, the retailers are buying their space”, he added.

Sharan said about 5,000,000 sq ft mall area announced and conceived in late 2007, early 2008 will get launched either in the last quarter this year or early next year. “There is a clear oversupply in this respect and the retailer (both national and international) are the kings. They have enough space to choose from. The commercials for the same are completely dependent on the performances, hence almost all these mega mall are transacting on a minimum guarantee and revenue share basis”, he pointed out.