Nexus Choose pushes meals, leisure area

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 forecast 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 is ​​happening gradually,” said Dalip Sehgal, executive director and CEO of Nexus Select Trust. “If you take food and beverages, which was 6-7% a few years ago, it is already 12%; If you look at a three-year period, this will definitely reach 15%. Similarly, entertainment, which used to be 4-5%, is already is at 7-8% and that could go into 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 that are growing fast now.”

Nexus Select Trust is India’s first publicly listed retail Reit. Its portfolio consists of 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 more than 1,000 domestic and international brands spanning 3,000 stores. The company’s shopping centers attract domestic as well as large global brands including Zara, H&M, Ethos, Mac and Pret A Manger.

The also comes as clothing retailers, which typically occupy anchor space in malls, do more business online. This encourages mall developers to expand their offerings beyond apparel and footwear. Nexus Select plans to downsize large supermarkets and select clothing and footwear to create more space for restaurant and entertainment concepts.

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

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

Additionally, more international foodservice 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 also strengthening presence, he said. “Today people want to go out and eat because 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, 23:41 IST