Xander Group to invest $600 mn to develop 12 malls

Virtuous Retail, the group's retail venture, is gearing up to open its first project at Surat in Gujarat by the end of this year

Global investment firm Xander Group will pump in $600 million (about Rs 3,300 crore) to develop and operate about 12 luxury shopping malls across India by 2017.

Virtuous Retail, the group's retail venture, is at present constructing eight such centres at various places and will develop another 2-4 malls in the coming years.

"The scope and potential of organised retail in India is huge. We have committed $600 million for a pan-India retail presence. We think, the amount will be invested by 2017," Virtuous Retail Marketing Director Anupam Yog told PTI.

Virtuous Retail, which is sponsored by the Xander Group, was set up in 2007, and is gearing up to open its first project at Surat in Gujarat by the end of this year, he added.

"Surat is our flagship project, where we are investing around $50 million. The total size of the shopping complex will be 6,00,000 sq ft," Yog said.

The company has also adopted the 'Surat Boat Race' to promote it in the global platform, besides starting a three-day story-telling event -- Kahani Festival.

"From the Surat project, VR Surat, we are expecting a rental revenue of Rs 30-40 crore annually," Yog said.

The company will hire 300 people for operating the complex, besides indirectly creating about 3,000 jobs.

Talking about the other projects, Yog said: "At present, eight projects are under various stages of constructions in places like Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. The sizes of the malls will vary between 0.5 million sq ft and 1.5 million sq ft."

The company will launch 2-4 new sopping centres, targeting cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Chandigarh, he added.

"Our concept is to provide a lifestyle. We plan to bring in various global brands into India and give consumers a premium retail experience," Yog said.

When asked about its model of operations, he said the company will own, develop and operate the properties.

"In some cases, we are developing the complexes under joint venture agreement with the property owner. The model will vary in different places, but we will never sell off the developed spaces," Yog said.

Some of the under-developed malls in Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune are mixed-use spaces, he added.

Xander Group has so far invested about $1 billion in India since 2005 in various sectors, including infrastructure, hospitality and entertainment.