Average mall size to rise by 2.5 times to 1 mn sq ft: study

The average size of new malls is expected rise by 2.5 times to touch one million square feet by 2017,  says a new study by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)

According to JLL, the average size of a superior grade mall is 400,000 sq ft, whereas the normal size of average grade and poor grade malls are 190,000 sq ft and 150,000 sq ft, respectively. "The average size of shopping malls in India has already begun to increase as developers focus on larger spaces. The success of a mall does depend on its size as superior grade malls are nearly double the size of average grade malls," JLL said in a latest report.

The larger malls allow for a complete tenant mix in various formats and categories, and can adopt modern mall management practices easily. "With the introduction of FDI in multi-brand retail, the average size of a mall is likely to increase as foreign retailers tend to occupy large spaces. As a consequence, both total mall supply and size are expected to increase over the medium to long term," JLL said.

According to JLL, the total retail stock in the country is expected to exceed 100 million sq ft by 2015 from 60.5 million sq ft in 2011.