Future to build Central mall

Christened "Kolkata Central", mall will have more than 400 brands.

Future Group will roll out its first "Central" mall in Kolkata within the next two years.

The mall, to be spread over 3 lakh square feet of area, will come up in the prime location of Ballygunge Circular Road called Tivoli Park, according to a company source.

Christened as the "Kolkata Central", the mall will see more than 400 brands selling products under one roof.

Central mall will be opened in six locations, viz, Gurgaon, Goregaon, Vashi, Ahemadabad, Indore and Bangalore by June 2008. The approximate cost of building each of the malls will be about Rs 25 crore, according to the source. In the next 2-3 years, Future Group will open another 15 - 17 Central stores across India, taking its total number to 30. "The Central mall will be based on a 'seamless concept', whereby there will be no wall-separation between the stores. The billing in the store will be managed by a central processor," the source said.

The "Central" mall at present exists in five cities, including Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Baroda, and is a relatively new concept in the eastern part of the country. The approximate spend in setting up a mall without distinct walls could be around Rs 1,500-2,000 per square feet, the source said.

Kishore Biyani, managing director, Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, refused to comment on the mall.

"We are not talking about the mall at present," he said. Meanwhile, rentals in locations like Ballygunge Circular road are already hitting the roof at Rs 150 -160 per square feet for a ground floor retail space.

The rentals for standalone retail malls are further high at more than Rs 200 per square feet.

However, over the last one year the retail price escalation in the area has been moderate at about 10-15 per cent, as more and more retailers are moving to rather new shopping areas like Salt Lake City Centre and South City mall, agree property consultants.