All the Delhi shopaholics who like to splurge can now take pride in the fact that New Delhi’s Khan Market is the most expensive retail location in India. According to a recent report published by a global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Khan market is the costliest shopping location in India and 24th worldwide.
“Khan Market, which is the most expensive retail location in India, was ranked at 24th Position moving up two places,” property consultant Cushman & Wakefield said in the report. The consultant released its annual flagship report ‘Main Streets Across The World’.
“Despite witnessing no change in the rental values of the location, Khan Market gained in rankings due to marginal changes in the rankings of other countries,” it added.
The rentals in Khan Market stood at USD 235 per sq ft per year.
The top spot has been retained by New York’s Upper 5th Avenue followed by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay on second spot and Avenue de Champs Elysess in Paris completing the top three.
Within the Indian markets, New Delhi and NCR accounted for the top four expensive locations with Connaught Place being second, DLF Galleria in Gurgaon being third and South Extension in New Delhi being fourth most expensive.
With Rs.1,250 ($19) per sq ft rental, Khan Market is followed by Connaught Place in the city centre at Rs.850 per sq ft and DLF Galleria at Gurgaon in Haryana and South Extension in south Delhi at Rs.750 per sq ft.
“All these three markets recorded a year-on-year growth due to a steady increase in retail activities in these locations. Entry of new brands in the market and expansion of existing brands have contributed to the growth in rental values of these locations, giving them a fillip,” Cushman & Wakefield (India) Managing Director Sanjay Dutt said.
These are established markets with long standing interest from occupiers as well as consumers on account of tenant mix, accessibility and legacy he said.
Thus, most brands have been working on establishing presence in these markets, despite rentals inching northwards. DLF Galleria saw one of the highest increases in rentals at over 15 per cent on account of better tenant mix and better quality of retail space.
Also, the mall has been attracting high footfalls due to its location and amenities, leading to a preference by many brands to set up shop in the establishment.
The study revealed that Mumbai’s retail locations of Linking Road and Colaba Causeway did not see a very bright year.
Colaba Causeway, ranked sixth among Indian markets, saw the highest rental decline within India in the last year of over 14 per cent, while Linking Road Western Suburbs at the fifth position stayed afloat with no change in the rents.
Many other established Mumbai markets, including Kemps Corner and Fort, also saw trend of declining rentals.
“Poor infrastructure and lack of amenities for shoppers and occupiers have been causing these locations to fall out of preference,” Dutt said.
He further said that most of these locations are understood to have reached their threshold pricing and are seeing a lack of demand at existing rental values, thereby pushing these locations to recalibrate their rentals downwards.
“Alternate locations such as Lower Parel, Kurla are preferred due to availability of quality space and growing catchment areas. Vashi and Chembur have, in the meantime, seen a rise in rental values of 14.8 per cent and 9.4 per cent, respectively, given a paucity of quality space but a rise in population base with adequate disposable income,” Dutt added.
Kolkata’s Park Street and Camac Street made it to the top ten ranks within India, despite recording no changes in rental values on account of robust retailer interest in the market and a regular inflow of brands to the location.