Susil Dungarwal is the founder and chief mall mechanic of Beyond Squarefeet Advisory, and former head of retail for Emaar MGF, a joint venture between Dubai’s Emaar and the Indian developer MGF. He talks about India’s mall development trends.
How do India’s malls compare to those found globally?
I would say the mall industry per se is at a very nascent stage in India. It has yet to evolve. There’s a long journey ahead if we compare ourselves with malls in the Middle East or in South East Asia. There’s not even one mall in the whole of the country which can beat a City Center Mall, forget The Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. It would take another decade to come to a certain levels of malls that we can see in the international markets to be seen in India.
Are UAE developers looking at building malls in India?
Some of the mall developers from the Middle East, mainly from Dubai, are already eyeing the Indian market. However, because of the restrictions, now they are in a wait-and-watch scenario. There are FDI (foreign direct investment) restrictions in the country when it comes to real estate. The moment the Indian government does some relaxation of the norms on FDI, I think quite a few of them will definitely look at this market. The only day when I can see good malls coming here is when some of the international mall developers will come and start building malls.
What are some of the challenges the less successful malls in India have faced?
In India, within the city access is very bad, so forget about getting out of the city. Destination malls will not work in India or have not worked. There have been a few examples or concepts which came up but they failed miserably because accessing those malls was a big issue. The competition is increasing with online and also with malls – wherever there is a successful mall, there’s a mushrooming of malls happening in that destination, so that catchment becomes oversaturated and then all of them start failing.
What other hurdles do malls in India have to overcome?
One is the the high cost of real estate. Indian real estate is very expensive. Two is availability of property. Being a densely populated country, availability of good land is not there. India does not have that many retail brands – domestic or international. There’s a huge limitation of retail players in the market. There are only about 350-odd organised retail players. We need to look at about another 1,000-plus brands coming in here – either domestic or international.
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A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
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- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
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BLACKBERRY
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The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RESULTS
Welterweight
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)
(Unanimous points decision)
Catchweight 75kg
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)
(Second round knockout)
Flyweight (female)
Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
(RSC in third round)
Featherweight
Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki
(Disqualification)
Lightweight
Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)
(Unanimous points)
Featherweight
Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
(TKO first round)
Catchweight 69kg
Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)
(First round submission by foot-lock)
Catchweight 71kg
Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
(TKO round 1).
Featherweight title (5 rounds)
Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
(TKO round 1).
Lightweight title (5 rounds)
Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)
(RSC round 2).