The coronavirus pandemic is still wreaking havoc on India’s retail land, with average monthly rents falling across the top key high street markets in major cities.
According to the report, average monthly rentals in Delhi’s iconic retail hub, Khan Market, fell by 8% to 17% in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020. Similarly, the high street markets of Kala Ghoda, Bandra Linking Road, and Fort in Mumbai (one of the worst-affected cities) saw high street retail rentals fall by 5% to 10% during the same time span.
Since early 2020, the retail industry has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic.
“With almost zero revenue during the lockdown and for a few months afterward, we saw retailers close their stores or even scale back their potential growth plans.” As a result, average monthly rents in major high-street retail markets across cities have largely corrected. If we look at the patterns from the previous two quarters, the retail sector seemed to be on the mend and was steadily returning to pre-pandemic levels of operation. The second wave, however, has stifled this expansion,” said Pankaj Renjhen, COO and Joint MD of ANAROCK Retail.
Pune was another heavily impacted area, with average high-street monthly rentals falling by 8-20% in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020.
Kolkata’s high street rental rates have also decreased.
In comparison to all other major cities, average high street rental prices in Gachibowli, Banjara Hills, and Jubilee Hills increased by 7-15 percent during this time span.
“As they aim to cut prices, retailers across product categories such as lifestyle, restaurants, and electronics continue to pursue lower rentals. Landlords have also lowered rents as a result of the pandemic, as businesses have crumbled under the strain of the lockdown, leaving properties empty. We continue to help our employees by paying their salaries on time,” said Rajesh Sadhwani, co-founder and joint managing director of Sadhwani Real Estate Holdings, a real estate brokerage company.
Following the second wave of COVID-19, the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) reported that the industry was generating Rs 15,000 crore per month on average before COVID and had reached that level by mid-March 2021, but that revenue had been slashed by nearly 50% due to local restrictions. It has also urged the government to provide financial assistance to the industry.
