Kolkata sees retail space lease of 57K sqft in Q4 of 2024

Kolkata: Kolkata recorded retail leasing volumes of 57,000 sq ft in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 where main streets continued to dominate retail leasing activity with a 96 per cent share in quarterly lease volumes amidst inadequate supply of premium Grade A mall space.

According to a report by the global real estate services firm, Cushman & Wakefield, Q4 saw a couple of footwear brands taking up space in South City Mall at Prince Anwar Shah Road. Main streets such as Elgin Road, Russell Street, Kankurgachi, Rashbehari Avenue and Esplanade recorded lease transactions by fashion, home furnishing and Consumer Durables & Information Technology (CDIT) brands. Additionally, the fashion segment accounted for 53 per cent of quarterly leasing volumes, followed by furniture & home furnishing with a share of 18 per cent and CDIT with 12 per cent share.

For the entire 2024, retail leasing volumes stood at around 0.21 million sq ft (msf), a marginal 1 per cent rise as compared to 2023. Main streets accounted for 87 per cent of leasing for the year. Fashion segment contributed 58 per cent of leasing volumes followed by CDIT segment with a share of 11 per cent and accessories and lifestyle brands with a 9 per cent share

Kolkata recorded no new mall completion in Q4 and in the entire year. However, 2025 is expected to witness two mall completions of 1.35 msf at Joka and Alipore locations. In the near term, demand across main streets will remain strong amidst low Grade A mall supply. City-wide headline mall vacancy remained unchanged at 6.8 per cent in the quarter.

Quoted mall rentals remained unchanged on a quarterly basis. Rentals across prominent Central Business District (CBD) main street locations such as Park Street, Camac Street and Theatre Road remained stable. Suburban and peripheral locations such as Gariahat, Kankurgachi, Rajarhat recorded rental appreciation of 2-3 per cent on a qoq basis.