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There are 74 ghost shopping centres -- those with vacancy of more than 40 per cent -- out of 365 such retail properties across the top 32 cities, according to Knight Frank. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Tuesday released a report, 'Think India Think Retail - Value Capture: Unlocking Potential', which has mapped the country's retail real estate across 32 cities. "A significant finding of the report is that nearly one-fifth of India's operational shopping centres fall into the category of 'Ghost Malls' - assets marked by high vacancies, weak tenant curation, ageing infrastructure, and declining relevance," the consultant said. Across 365 shopping centres surveyed, as many as 74 have been classified as ghost assets, representing 15.5 million square feet (mn sq ft) of area. Within this pool, the consultant said that 15 centres with a combined area of 4.8 million sq ft could be retrofitted and earn Rs 357 crore as annual rental. The consultant has defined ghost shopping .
Home and sleep solutions brand Wakefit Innovations, which is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) this calendar year, has opened 32 stores in the first 10 months of 2025, taking its total count to over 130 as part of its retail expansion strategy. Going ahead, Wakefit plans to open 117 additional company-owned, company-operated (COCO) regular stores, which comprises 67 in FY27 and 50 in FY28 across cities including Mumbai, Noida, Bengaluru, Ghaziabad, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow, Gurgaon, Tumkur, Vizag, Kozhikode, Thanjavur, Ambala and Sonipat. The Bengaluru-based company launched its first store in March 2022 in Lucknow and expanded to 98 stores by December 31, 2024. As part of its strategy to strengthen presence in smaller towns and underserved pockets of metros, the company plans to open COCO regular stores of varied sizes, tailored to specific catchment areas across product categories such as mattresses, furniture and furnishings. "We believe that there is an opportun