Kolkata: Main streets such as Park Street, Theatre Road and Rashbehari Avenue dominated retail leasing in Kolkata during the third quarter of 2025, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.
The report noted that in the absence of adequate space in the city’s Grade A malls, main streets accounted for about 98 per cent of all leasing activity.
Retail leasing volumes in Kolkata stood at approximately 60,000 square feet in the quarter, registering a 24 per cent increase over the previous quarter. Space take-up was led by domestic fashion brands across key city locations and extended to peripheral main street areas such as Uttarpara, Ichapore and Barasat, where fashion, kitchenware and hypermarket brands leased outlets.
The fashion segment accounted for 63 per cent of total leasing volumes, followed by hypermarkets at 17 per cent. For the year to date, total leasing volumes stood at around 0.15 million square feet, with main streets contributing nearly 93 per cent.
There was no new mall supply during the quarter and no Grade A mall completions are expected this year. Two malls currently under construction are expected to become operational in 2026. The city-wide mall vacancy rate remained stable at 6.6 per cent, while Grade A mall vacancy stood at 2.5 per cent, indicating a limited supply of quality retail space.
Quoted rentals at prime high-street locations such as Park Street, Camac Street and Theatre Road remained unchanged during the quarter. Suburban high streets, including Gariahat, VIP Road and Kankurgachi, recorded a 1-2 per cent increase in rentals.
Key leasing transactions included Rare Rabbit (8,000 sq ft) on Theatre Road, Souled Store (4,000 sq ft) on Park Street, Kisna Jewellery (3,000 sq ft) at Sodepur, Tasva (2,700 sq ft) on Rashbehari Avenue, and Footsee (1,200 sq ft) at Mani Square Mall.
The report cited GDP growth of 7.8 per cent and consumer spending growth of 7 per cent in Q1 FY 2025-26, and projected a stable retail outlook for Kolkata.