EVOLUTION OF SHOPPING MALLS

According to some researchers, malls started in the early 20th century with a group of stores establishing off-street parking in a Baltimore neighbourhood in 1907. Another significant development took place in the 1920s in California where supermarkets would anchor and serve as a magnet for a strip of small stores. However, the entities referred to in both the cases cannot be called malls in the true sense of the concept as it is understood today. At best, these commercial units may be termed as 'precursors' of modern malls. Incidentally, many aspects of retailing emphasized by the 'first malls' have become an integral part of modem malls.

In 1922, in suburban Kansas City, Missouri, J.C. Nichols built the Country Club Plaza, which was a group of stores accessible only by cars. It was constructed as the business district for a large-scale residential development. It featured unified architecture and paved and lighted parking lots. It was managed and operated as a single unit. The first modern shopping mall, Southdale Center, was established in 1956 in Edina, Minnesota, outside Minneapolis. It was the first fully enclosed mall with a two-level design. It had central air-conditioning and heating, a comfortable common area (atrium), and two competing department stores as anchors

Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, MissouriWorld's first shopping mall

The concept of mall was originally conceived as a community centre where people would converge for shopping, cultural activities and social interactions. Traditional developers attracted consumers to malls through the promise of making available a wide assortment of stores and merchandise at a single location. Apart from the products and services offered, a mall itself offers experiences that are consumable Mall managers have been organizing special events within the malls, like home improvement expos, walking clubs, art exhibits, health screening, auto shows and live music.

India's Entry into Shopping Mall Era

India entered the mall era in the 1990s when the first wave of mall development was observed in the form of Spencer Plaza (Chennai), Crossroads (Ivlurnbai) and Ansal Plaza (New Delhi) creating approximately 6,50,000 sq. ft. of mall space in India. Phase one of Spencer Plaza was inaugurated in 1990 after rejuvenation of the fire- gutted old Spencer Commercial Complex. The seven-floor mall has a mix of retail, office space and entertainment facilities, but it has glaring flaws.

Spencer Plaza, Chennai India's first shopping mall

Ansal Plaza was the first retail project of its kind in North India. This is a three-storey complex divided into three wings (A, B and C) and encloses an open-air amphitheatre. The project was conceived as a mixeduse property comprising offices and retail. Although architecturally it looks different from modern shopping malls with an enclosed atrium and corridors, it scores well on other parameters such as the tenant mix and zoning. Of the three pioneers, Crossroads is closest to a modern shopping mall. Inaugurated in 1999 in the Haji Ali area of Mumbai, Crossroads was planned and developed by the Piramal Group of Industries after renovating their old pharmaceutical buildings into a new-style mall. It is a three-storey construction dominated by retail, food and entertainment.

MALLS MOVE OUT OF INDIAN METROS

Real estate developers are taking this phenomenon further to smaller cities, with corporate houses like ITC and the Sriram Group making a steady progress in proving its feasibility even in the rural market. There is no denying that topnotch cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune are leading the way. But Tier II cities like Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Surat are too catching the eye of mall developers. Mall developers are in such a mood that they may override the requirement in a specific city.

According to an Images F7R research, there were about 172 operational malls in India in 2010. North India dominated the scene with 79 operation malls followed by West Zone with 56 operational malls, South zone with 21 malls and East zone with 16 malls. In North India, major supply of mall space came from Delhi NCR with 53 malls out of 79 coming from its constituent cities (including, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad). In west zone, 35 malls out of total 56 are in Mumbai. Major location in the East is Kolkata with 10 out of 16 operational malls whereas South has Bangalore and Hyderabad as prominent locations.

Smaller cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, Lucknow, Indere, Ludhiana and Chandigarh are also coming up with shopping malls.. With such high projections of new format retail space, innovation, the right tenant mix, effective mall management and provision of ample parking space are the components that will decide the future success of malls.

Though the pace of growth in mall space dampened a bit during the last few years, according to a research, the country is likely to have a total of nearly 750 operational malls providing 350 million sq ft of mall space by the year 2015 (Images F & R Research Analysis, 2007)

MALL MANAGEMENT

 Mall management concerns itself with a combination of people, location, processes and technological systems in a particular building. Mall management has been identified as a critical factor for the success of malls and the retail industry across the world.

mall management broadly includes

Refers to location of mall.

Positioning Positioning a mall refers to defining the category of services it will offer based on demographics, psychographics, income levels, competition in neighbouring areas and extensive market research of the catchment area. For example, if the market research indicates that the average number of households living in a particular area belongs to the upper middle class then a high-end retail mall would suit the location.

Zoning Zoning refers to the division of the mall space into zones for the placement of various retailers. A mall is dependent on the success of its tenants, which translates into the financial feasibility of tenants in the mall. Generally, there are two types of consumers visiting malls focused buyers and impulse buyers. The time spent by the focused buyers in malls is relatively less compared to the impulse buyers who also enjoy window- shopping.

Promotions and Marketing

Facilities Management
The facilities management refers to the in tegration of people, place, process and technology in a building. It also means optimum utilization of resources to meet organizational needs. It broadly includes management of infrastructure, ambience and traffic.

Infrastructure Management it refers to the management of facilities provided to the tenants within a mall. It includes provision of adequate power supply, safety issues in case of emergency and miscellaneous Issues such as signage, water supply and sanitation, etc. Ambience Management The overall shopping experience provided for consumers is an important factor for the success of any mall. The ambience management includes management of parks, fountains and the mall's overall look.

Traffic Management The traffic management includes managing foot traffic into the mall and parking facilities. The foot traffic management involves crowd management inside the operational area of a mall. Finance Management The financial management of the mall as a true business venture is a must. The financial management involves monitoring and controlling of various issues such as cash receipts and collection of income including rentals and electricity, service and other utility charges, and payment of all invoices and expenses.

FACTORS STIMULATING GROWTH OF SHOPPING MALLS IN INDIA

The Young India India has the ad vantage of a largely young population. Children below 14 years of age currently constitute 35 per cent of India's population. By 2050, over 60 per cent of the country's population is estimated to constitute the working age group (15-60). Two- thirds of Indian population is under 35, with the median age of 23 years, as opposed to the world median age of 33. India is home to 20 per cent of the global population under 25 years of age.

Rapid Economic Growth The fast and furious pace of growth of the Indian economy is a driving force for the Indian consumerism, with the Indian consumers confident about their earnings and spending a large portion of their high disposable incomes. Projections by analysts suggest that India has the potential to emerge as the fastest-growing economy and outpace the developed economies by 2050.

Potential Rural Market India ranks first, ahead of Russia, in terms of the emerging market potential and is deemed a "Priority 1" market for international retail. The organized retail penetration is on the rise and offers an attractive proposition for the entry of new players as well as scope for expansion by the existing players. India is home to a large base of consumers with annual incomes falling in the range US$ 1,000-4,700, comprising over 75 million households (ICRIER 2008).

Low Cost of Operations The most attractive component of India's value proposition is its cost-effectiveness. The existing players are increasingly turning to Tier II and Tier III cities for retail establishments and for manpower sourcing. These cities offer significant cost advantage in the form of availability of low-cost skilled human resources Share of Wallet The average annual expenditure of a household is estimated at Rs 1, 22,446 in metro cities. The maximum share is devoted to food and grocery at 36% followed by rent. Utilities too account for a significant proportion.

Government Support to Modern Retail Formats Large format malls are increasingly becoming popular with developers as well as consumers, getting prominence with adequate retail space allocated to leisure and entertainment Increase in the Sizable Disposable Income The Mckinsey Global Institute predicts dramatic changes in India's income pyramid with the rise in the incomes of Indians (Figure 1.3). Apart from a substantial reduction in poverty, India will create a sizeable and largely urban middle class. The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) defines the middle class as comprising two economic segments: seekers with real annual household disposable incomes of 200,000- 500,000 Indian rupees ($4,380-10,940 or $23,530- 58,820 at purchasing power parity or PPP) and strivers at 500,000 -1,000,000 Indian rupees ($10,940-21,890 or $58,820- 117,650 at PPP).