DLF to invest Rs 1,500 cr in malls

18 shopping malls to come up in the North

In the largest investment of its kind in the country, the DLF Group is pumping in over Rs 1,500 crore over the next two and a half years in developing 20 shopping malls. All of these malls will be located in North India, except two that are coming up in Kolkata.

More investment could be firmed up in the next two years as the group was zeroing in on locations in Mumbai and in the South, DLF Universal Director Pia Singh told Business Standard. "This makes us the largest mall developer in the country," she said.

The group already operates one mall in Gurgaon.

Cash-rich DLF Group plans to make these investments through a combination of internal accruals and debt. It has no plans to raise money by either going public or tapping the private equity market.

Many of the malls on the group's drawing board will be located in and around Delhi. According to Singh, the group is putting up six in Delhi, four in Gurgaon, and one in Noida. "All the five malls in Gurgaon have been sold out and the marketing of other malls will start shortly," she said.

Almost half the Rs 1,500-crore investment planned by the group will be for the development of DLF Place in the Vasant Kunj area of south Delhi. Two malls are proposed to be built here""one a mass market and the other to be positioned higher on the value chain. "These will be our flagship," Singh said. Thus, DLF is only going to lease and not sell space in these two malls.

When asked about the unique selling proposition of DLF malls, Singh said the locations would always be well-thought of and there will be entertainment centres for all kinds of people.

"Apart from an anchor store and other shops, each of these malls will have an entertainment centre, including a cineplex, food court, bowling alley, etc. This will be the true differentiator," she said.

Singh said the group was toying with the idea of coming up with an umbrella brand for all its malls.

"We do have a brand called DLF Retail. We are trying to see how we can make it more tangible. For instance, we could have a common loyalty programme for all our malls," she said.

On an expansion spree

• More investment likely to be firmed up in the next two years as the DLF group is zeroing in on locations in Mumbai and in the South
• The group plans to make the investments through a combination of internal accruals and debt
• The group is putting up six malls in Delhi, four in Gurgaon, and one in Noida