Chapter 3: Mall development
process
Decisions concerning location and design for
a mall are important because
• Cost
• Nature of decision
• Business potential
• Shopping experience
Planning and design decisions:
• Deciding the macro location
• Deciding the micro location
• Assessment of business potential
• Selecting a suitable design and architecture
Deciding the macro location
• Developers rely on macro economic indicators of the
cities from secondary sources: Govt. or private.
• Small study specific to the project. This could be done
in house or could be outsourced to specialized
research and consulting agencies.
• Linited availability of fund
• Insistence by investors
• Familiarity with a region and strong liason with
political, administrative and business spheres in that
region.
Deciding the micro location
• Absolute size and population density
• economic profile
• monthly income
• shopping trends and pattern of consumption
• existing level of market development
• pricing and availability of real estate
Catchment area is of 3 types
• Primary catchment area: The area from
where the mall gets 60-80% of its business.
Regular visitors
• Secondary catchment area: The area from
where the mall gets 15-30% of its business.
Occasional visitors
• Tertiary catchment area: The area from where
the mall gets 5-10% of its business.
Tools for estimating catchment areas:
• PIN codes
• Vehicle number plates
• Customer surveys
• Contest and schemes
Assessment of business potential
• Profile characteristics: demography of customers,
their income, lifestyle, preferences in the catchment
area
• Demand characteristics: How much is demanded by
customers in the catchment area
• Supply characteristics: total supply of products and
services by the existing sellers in the catchment area
• Business potential: Assessed after analyzing the
above 3 parameters
Estimation of demand situation
• Voter list, electricity connections, list of house tax, water /
sewerage bill
• Average income of each household through secondary
data
• Sample survey in the catchment area
• Av. Sales in Rs/sq.ft of retail space through list available
with associations and publications
• Services of professional consultants and researchers
• Estimation of supply situation: detailed listing and
estimation of retail space available in the catchment area
Estimation of supply situation
• Comprehensive fieldwork and includes
detailed listing of retail space available in the
catchment area
• Estimation is done separately for each
product and service category
Estimation of business potential
• Difference between the demands and supply
of product categories and services translated
to tenant mix
• This tenant mix has to be translated to
equivalent mall space
Summing up the planning process
• Developer can decide locations for
categories/brands inside the mall on the basis
of preferences manifested by shoppers with
similar profiles elsewhere(analogous method).
This is also called zoning.
Checking suitability of a plot for mall
development
• Location
• Connectivity and accessibility
• Visibility
• Size of the plot
• Zoning classification: use of the plot(commercial/for
mall use/residential use etc.)
• Condition of plot
• Available infrastructure
• Neighbouring building
Mall design process
• Developing the concept and feasibility
• Appointing the architect
• Preliminary design
• Schematic design
• Detailed design
• Development of construction drawing
Elements of mall design and architecture
• Allocation of open versus covered space
• Extent of vertical expansion
• Vehicular circulation and parking
• Loading docks
• Landscaping
• Pad or platform development
• Façade or external appearance
• Overall theme of architecture
• Size, shape and nature of atriums
• Building layout
• HVAC, lighting and acoustics
• Special provision for anchor tenants
• Basic facilities and amenities
• Safety features
Characteristics of a good mall design
• Aesthetically appealing
• Efficient use of space
• Open appearance
• Natural ventilation
• Natural illumination
Elements of mall design and architecture
• Location of open versus covered space
• Extent of vertical expansion
• Vehicular circulation and parking
• Loading docks
• Landscaping
• Pad or platform development
• Facade or external appearance
• Overall theme of architecture
• Size, shape and number of atriums
• Building layout
• HVAC, lighting and acoustics
• Special provision for anchor tenants
• Basic facilities and amenities
• Safety features
Characteristics of a good mall design
• Aesthetically appealing
• Efficient use of space
• Open appearance
• Natural ventilation
• Natural illumination
