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Doubling Retail Space, Doubling Opportunities: Inside Inorbit Malls’ high-stakes expansion game
Inorbit Malls to double its space from 2.2 mn sq.ft to 4.4 mn sq.ft in the next 14 months by opening two new malls in Hubli and Vizag, and expanding its Vadodara mall. It is also constructing a mixed-use property along with the financial partner Brookfield in Hyderabad, which should be operational in 2029, Rajneesh Mahajan, CEO, Inorbit Malls, told ETRetail.
Currently, the group runs four malls - Inorbit Malad, Inorbit Vashi, Inorbit Cyberabad, and Inorbit Vadodara.
"We will be adding another 1.6 million sq.ft this year, that is almost 80 per cent additional space and expansion at Vadodara mall next year, will nearly double the portfolio," he asserted.
"We are betting big on expanding malls, as malls have been doing great business. We are running four malls, and we are seeing a steady growth in consumption in those malls. We don't see people turning away from malls. A slight change in tenant mix will keep happening as per the trends and as per the emergence of new categories," he further added.
Inorbit Hubli is a 5.5 lakh square feet built mall with space for nearly 125 tenants. The CAPEX involved in building this mall stands at approx. Rs 450 crore.
"Inorbit Hubli is an acquired brownfield project and should be operational by August 2025. We have already signed 80-odd tentants with anchor spaces being occupied by brands like Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons, TimeZone, PVR, Smart Bazaar, and Reliance Trends, to name a few," he stated.
Whereas, Inorbit Vizag, which spans across 1.1 million sq.ft, will be launched in two phases - November 2025 and Q1 2027. The CAPEX to build phase 1 stands at approx Rs 600 crore, and phase 2 will require another Rs 150 crore.
"Currently, this mall houses anchor brands like Shoppers Stop, H&M, Max, and TimeZone, to name a few. In the second phase, we will be adding more anchor spaces as we will be adding another 3 lakh sq.ft," he explained.
Apart from this, the group is also expanding the area of its existing mall in Vadodara from 4.2 lakh sq.ft to 6.7 lakh sq.ft. by investing approx. Rs 200 crore. and it is expected to be fully operational by December 2026.
"We are looking at markets that are under service right now, and we are looking for a 5 to 8 years of gestation period," he asserted.
Talking about the category mix at the malls, he said, "Entertainment is a big attraction today. So, we are doing large entertainment centers in all these locations. We plan to almost double the space allocated to FECs, excluding cinemas. Along with this, depending upon the city and the demand for space for F&B, we would like to maximize as much as we can in each city because that's another pull factor."
"FEC will occupy 12-13 per cent of space, and the other categories, which will occupy major space, include F&B, health, and beauty and wellness, to name a few," he further added.
As Inorbit Cyberbad is the biggest property of the group, it contributes 40 per cent of the overall revenue.
Talking about the growth this fiscal year, he said. "So, last year the consumption growth was slow, and it impacted the growth in the revenues for the mall as well. We have seen some good growth rates in the last 6-7 weeks. And I hope that this year will show a little high single-digit growth in consumption. And at some stage, the rental growth will also match up with the similar numbers."
Source: The Economic Times