The shopping mall is on the cusp of a major

change.From being mere buildings housing stores,

they are evolving into becoming an integral part

of the community they belong to, places where

people spend their leisure time. This is particularly

true for a country like India where the weather

conditions and the need to move around in a car

dictate where people spend their free time! But just

when the mall was settling into a routine, came

a new medium of sale, in form of e-commerce.

People switched over for the convenience and the

comfort, the sea of choices, deep discounts and

doorstep delivery.

The Indian mall developer was jolted out of his

comfort zone, as shoppers who once thronged

malls were now ordering on phones, computers

and tablets, siphoning sales from physical stores.

They started facing the heat to reinvent their

shopping centres. And what a reinvention it has

been. From simply housing well-known chain

stores, cinemas and supermarkets,the Indian mall

has transformed itself into a FEC – a place where

people can eat, watch movies, take part in events

and activities, spend quality time in play zones

with their children, and maybe shop some!

Gyms, supermarkets, hotels, co-working space,

pop-up stores, expanded food courts, movie

theatres and event spaces are all filling up the retail

space in the malls, bringing in footfalls and pulling

back customers and revenue from e-commerce.

In the new and improved Shopping Centre News,

we bring you an analysis on why shopping malls

are the ‘the’ retail spaces of tomorrow and how

fashion and lifestyle play a major role in bringing

in the shoppers.

The feature analyses concerns from both

retailers’ and shopping malls’ perspective and also

talks about ways to deal with these challenges in

a mega round table discussion that took place at

IMAGES Group’s recently the concluded flagship

event, ‘India Fashion Forum 2019’.

The edition also brings you a perspective of

small business ideas apt for a mall, in the form of

kiosks which is becoming one of the leading trends

in the shopping malls today. This business idea has

been advocated globally in developed countries for

decades, even though it has picked up pace in India

very recently.

At last, we hope to find this redesigned issue

crisp, knowledgeable and valuableto your

business as always. Log on to our website www.

indiaretailing.comto read more informative

articles and analyses on innovative trends and

developments in the shopping centre industry on a

global stage with an emphasis on India.