The move aligns with the evolving retail landscape, where consumers are prioritizing experiences over purchases of goods, especially post-covid.

The resurgence of large-scale movie releases and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions have drawn consumers back to malls, prompting Nexus Select to anticipate a 25% contribution from food and entertainment to its business in the next three years, up from 18% now.

“The change in the portfolio mix happens gradually,” said Dalip Sehgal, executive director and CEO of Nexus Select Trust. “If you take food and beverages, which a few years ago used to be 6-7%, it is already 12%. If you look at a three-year period, this will certainly get to 15%. Similarly, entertainment, which used to be 4-5%, is already at 7-8% and that could become double-digits, so that could be 10% and F&B could be 15%. So, 25% of our sales or consumption will actually come from categories which are now growing rapidly.”

Nexus Select Trust is India’s first publicly listed retail Reit. Its portfolio comprises 17 grade-A malls with a gross leasable area of 9.9 million square feet spread across 14 cities. Its portfolio includes a tenant-base of over 1,000 domestic and international brands spanning 3,000 stores. The company’s malls draw homegrown as well as large global brands including Zara, H&M, Ethos, Mac and Pret A Manger.

The also comes as apparel retailers that typically occupy anchor space in malls are doing more business online. This is prompting mall developers to expand their offerings beyond apparel and footwear. Nexus Select plans to downsize large hypermarkets and select apparel and footwear stores to create more space for restaurants and entertainment concepts.

The company’s focus on food and entertainment is reinforced by a strong performance of these categories in the first half of the current financial year. Footfalls increased 14% year-on-year, driven by the return of families and their preference for family entertainment centres, cinemas and restaurants.

“F&B remains the fastest-growing category within our retail portfolio,” Sehgal said. “We’ve also increased our food court capacities across all malls.”

Additionally, more international food services brands have entered India and are steadily expanding their presence—these include Pret A Manger, Paul’s and Popeye’s — while local restaurant brands are stepping up presence too, he said. “Today people want to go out and eat since eating is a very social activity. To that extent people have resumed eating out in restaurants after the pandemic,” he added.

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Updated: 17 Nov 2023, 11:41 PM IST