KRS 2014: Panel Discussion: Realty Facts : Emerging Cities in South India

1. Panel Discussion: Realty facts : emerging cities
in South India

2. Realty facts : emerging cities in South India

3. Shubhranshu Pani, Regional
Director, Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle
Nigam Patel, Director,
Prozone CSC
Girish Pande, COO, Fun
Cinemas
Mani Chinaswamy, MD,
Appachi Cotton
Anand Sundaram, CEO,
Pioneer Property Zone:
ParticipantsParticipants
P Subramaniam,
Consultant, RmKV Silks
ModeratorModerator

4. Shubhranshu Pani,
Regional Director,
Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle

5. Shubhranshu Pani,
Regional Director,
Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle

6. How do you chose a market to set up a mall?How do you chose a market to set up a mall?
• First mall in Aurangabad
• Our concept of Ground + 1, large car parking,
‘dominant shopping center’ – helps us capture
emerging markets.
• We need a good mix of local plus national
retailers. It took us time to understand this in
Aurangabad, but we’ve been able to apply this
markets like Coimbatore.
Mall management is all about patience
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Nigam Patel, Director,
Prozone CSC

7. • Each brand needs to look at its own areas of
strength and how those can be leveraged
• RmKV has its roots in TIrunelveli (TN) – it’s a
familiar and a family brand in that market.
• In spite of that – we had to analyze to understand
why move to a particular city and not another city
• For example – our hypothesis was that
Coimbatore is a ‘feeder’ market – catering to
Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Pollachi, and Palakkad
• We are an established brand, but we had to
answer some key questions when moving into
emerging markets like Coimbatore
Key questions for us : What is the ‘fertility’ of the market? How does
the brand connect and consumer relevance operate in that city?
How do you chose a market to set up a new store?How do you chose a market to set up a new store?
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
P Subramaniam,
Consultant, RmKV Silks

8. How do you chose a market to set up a mall?How do you chose a market to set up a mall?
• We’ve opened 8 malls before Coimbatore and we’ve
found that tier 2 markets give us much better success.
• Cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh & Lucknow – these
are places where we see growth.
• Coimbatore has emerged as a flagship market for us – we
have the highest ad rates in Coimbatore, and we see
100,000 customers a month at our multiplex.
• At the mall – the anchor retailers – Reliance / McDonalds
are also doing exceedingly well.
• When we open a new mall in a tier 2 market, we go back
to the drawing board and ask basic questions about
consumption patterns.
In deciding to open up a mall in a tier 2 city, we go back to the basics: Do
consumers have money? Do they want to spend? Do they have other
opportunities to spend?
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Girish Pande, COO, Fun
Cinemas

9. • We are a one-store wonder; a factory outlet in a
niche ‘sustainable cotton’ market.
• Our ‘product’ is niche, high value handloom
sarees, stoles, scarves etc. The retail arm for us is
a channel to absorb all the organic cotton
produced by the contract manufacturers whom
we work with.
• We’ve used the sustainability plank to create a
“cotton trail” a visual imagery of how organic
cotton reduces the ‘man-animal’ conflict.
Retail can build an ‘aura’ around niche businesses – malls
provide footfalls.
How do you view the retail / mall opportunity?How do you view the retail / mall opportunity?
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Mani Chinaswamy, MD,
Appachi Cotton

10. How do you make malls more desirable than a high street – for
retailers? Do they need to be?
How do you make malls more desirable than a high street – for
retailers? Do they need to be?
• Building malls is about making relationships with
Retail work.
• It’s a buyers market – we need retailers more
than they need us.
• Malls are more attractive than high streets –
because they are a secure environment – with
parking. Appeals to all three generations.
• But the mall business is about patience – and
break evens are northwards of 3 years.
• Building partnerships with retailers which will ‘go
the distance’ is important.
• When times get tough, it’s relationships and not
LOI’s (Letters of Intent) which come to the rescue.
Partner with retailers to make malls work in the long run.
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Nigam Patel, Director,
Prozone CSC

11. • Three reasons:
– Shopping has become experiential
– Our brand challenge is to connect with the younger
consumer – and malls give us this.
– There was no good property (which matches our
brand) available on the high street.
• Also the mall option was a way to derisk our
investment into a new market like Coimbatore.
The alternative would have been to build our own
store. Given we were entering a new (albeit
adjacent) market, we wanted the flexibility that
leasing provided us with.
Strong brands in good malls act as a pull factor for consumers.
Why did you chose a mall in Coimbatore over the high street?Why did you chose a mall in Coimbatore over the high street?
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
P Subramaniam,
Consultant, RmKV Silks

12. • Number of malls coming up in tier 2 cities is limited.
In the last 15 years, malls have covered only the top
50 cities. India has 117 cities with population > 4
lakhs – the tipping point for mall development.
• In the near future high streets will continue to be
more dominant
• Brands prefer high street stores and stand alone
stores, as long as mall capacity is limited.
• Once the malls comes in then brands will move.
• For any retailer – to expand into tier 2 / 3 - they have
to therefore look at high street.
What do regional retailers prefer – malls v/s high street – in tier 2
cities?
What do regional retailers prefer – malls v/s high street – in tier 2
cities?
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Shubhranshu Pani, Regional
Director, Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle
Brands have to balance high streets and malls. They have to
bring the experience of malls into the high street stores and the
personal touch of high street stores into the malls.

13. • In tier 2 markets, lack of space on high streets, and limited mall
capacity means that strong retail brands may chose to build their
own space.
Partnership dynamics between malls and retailersPartnership dynamics between malls and retailers
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Shubhranshu Pani,
Regional Director,
Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle
P Subramaniam,
Consultant, RmKV Silks
• Brands may not want to build their
own stores in new markets – they will
want to de-risk and ‘feel’ the market
out before committing – i.e. a ‘low
stakes’ approach.

14. Partnership dynamics between malls and retailersPartnership dynamics between malls and retailers
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
Shubhranshu Pani,
Regional Director,
Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle
• Mall managers / landlords are usually willing to partner with
strong brands – and waive lock in’s.
• Regional brands in malls – this combination attracts maximum
footfalls.
P Subramaniam,
Consultant, RmKV Silks
• Consumer perception is that the
prices in malls will be higher as
compared to the high street –that
facilities such as the air-conditioning,
parking, clean toilets will be priced in.
• We had to undertake a ‘uniform
pricing’ campaign to deal with this
perception.
• Consumers are willing to travel to
malls to buy.

15. Partnership dynamics between malls and retailersPartnership dynamics between malls and retailers
Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:
• High streets with a long history (Linking Road – Mumbai,
Connaught place in Delhi), with decent parking will thrive.
• The issue is whether tier 2 cities can attract enough
investments for new malls.
• Stores in malls take time to attract footfall. Unlike high streets
where presence ensures footfall – malls cannot immediately
compete with high streets where consumers have shopped for
decades. Malls take 3 years to settle.
• As a retailer, take a view on the future of your high street –
will it last 15 / 20 years? What developments are planned?
How will the parking problem evolve over the next decade?
• If you are not happy with the answers, move to a mall, if there
is one available.
Girish Pande, COO,
Fun Cinemas
“If you build, they will come”

16. What should small retailers entering into malls be careful about?What should small retailers entering into malls be careful about?
• Look at the intention of the mall developer – they should be in
the business long term, and want to run the mall. They should
have the infrastructure to maintain the mall.
• Who is the anchor? The anchor tenant draws the catchment –
smaller retailers get the benefit of their ‘name value’
• In tier 2 cities – you need strong regional brands to be
present. – check whether they are.
• Check that the catchment does not have other shopping
centers / malls. What is the consumption potential of the
catchment? What is the income profile?
• Check the design of the mall / shopping center as a customer
would – Is their parking? How does public transport work? Are
there schools / colleges / markets in the catchment.
Malls can be trial and error – it takes 3 years for a store in a mall
to settle. Once you settle, stay.
Audience
Q&A
Shubhranshu Pani,
Regional Director,
Retail, Jones Lang
LaSalle

17. Why do kiosks get ‘second hand treatment’ from malls.Why do kiosks get ‘second hand treatment’ from malls.
Audience
Q&A
• Malls are not in the business of kiosks.
• Depending on what is sold in kiosks – there can be issues of
security, safety, cleanliness and hygiene (food kiosks).
• 70% of Kiosk owners are often first time retailers – not often
serious about he business and do not have financial
wherewithal. They need to prove credentials and are often
asked for a deposit.
• Kiosks must not inconvenience long term tenants – hence
sometimes, they are priced prohibitively – to keep non-serious
players out.
Girish Pande, COO,
Fun Cinemas
Malls are not targeted at kiosk owners but at retailers.

18. Realty facts : emerging cities in South India