'Ghost malls' haunt India's retail scene, but it's not all grim

With high vacancies, many are on verge of closure, though an overhaul may revive them

- Rohini Mohan

Life for the shopkeepers of Dreams Mall has been more like a nightmare ever since the three-storey building in Bhandup, a Mumbai suburb, was partly damaged by two fires in a short space of time.

They are still on the hook for property and municipal taxes, even though the 1,000-shop mall has been closed since the fires in 2021 and 2022.

It has fallen into such disrepair now that, as Google reviewer Gopakumar puts it, "a horror movie could be shot here".

A study by real estate consultancy Knight Frank India of 340 shopping centres in 29 cities found 64 to be "ghost malls", with vacancies of over 40 per cent.

This is up from the 57 ghost malls in 2022, based on the Think India Think Retail 2024 report.

Almost one in five shopping centres in the study wears an abandoned look a near-empty building with shuttered stores and eerie, darkened hallways.

"Many of the small shopping malls are on the verge of closure," said Mr Gulam Zia, director of Knight Frank India.

Most underperformers are older suburban malls that cannot compete with glitzier developments in more central locations that have organised zoning and brand-name anchor tenants, as well as attractions such as cineplexes, large foodcourts and family entertainment zones.

About 13.3 million sq ft of shopping space is vacant, resulting in a loss of 67 billion rupees (S$1.08 billion) in revenue for developers in 2023, the report found.

Coming in with the highest number of ghost malls is the National Capital Region, which includes Delhi and its neighbouring suburbs. It has 21 such malls, followed by "India's Silicon Valley" Bengaluru with 12, and financial hub Mumbai with 10.

The National Capital Region and Mumbai, especially, have a growing number of struggling malls.