NCR, Mumbai cities top fashion retailers' expansion plans in India

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Sep 29, 2016

NCR (Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida) followed by Mumbai continue to serve as gateway cities featuring at the top of retailer expansion plans, according to a India retailer sentiment survey by CBRE India Research. 

'Fashion and apparel retailers in particular are able to generate higher sales in the 'all-season cities' of NCR as compared to other cities, further contributing to their popularity,’’ said the report, released on Tuesday.

CBRE conducted a sentiment survey among prominent global and domestic retailers. With malls in India increasingly serving as retail and entertainment destinations (with entertainment zones taking up large-sized spaces), more than 40% of the respondents favoured operating out of a mall greater than the average size of 350,000 square feet.

"This allows them to gain access to a more varied retail environment ranging from supermarkets, cinemas, kids entertainment zones -thereby attracting greater footfalls,’’ the survey said.

The study found that 61% purchases are online compared to 39% in-store purchases—this only relates to purchases made during the 'sales' period, said Vivek Kaul, head of retail services, India, CBRE South Asia.

"While the overall sector is growing, retailers see increasing demand for an online presence. This will help increase consumer base, offer convenience, thereby increasing their profitability," said Kaul.

The survey said that the majority of the e-tailers currently witnessing close to 10% of their overall sale revenues through the online route. Increasing consumer knowledge of favoured brand offerings (product ranges, size and prices) amidst an expanding e-commerce sector results in most e-tailers staying optimistic about increasing online sales moving forward. The trend is here to stay, said the report.