In an exclusive têteà-tête with Shopping Centre News, Rajeev Anand, Managing Director, Europark, talks about why Europark is touted as the first premium shopping mall of East Delhi-Ghaziabad corridor.
Q. Please tell us in detail about Europark mall. What is the USP and differentiating factor of the mall?
Europark is positioned as the first premium shopping centre with a predefined trade and tenant mix and zoning criteria. The Mix has been designed as a blend of premium and popular retail to ensure that the centre becomes a hot spot for the catchment area audience. So while at one hand the customer shall be treated with their favourite international fashion brands such as one of the largest Marks & Spencer store , on the other it shall also house popular indian stores such as and, Global Desi, Ayesha etc. beauty, personal care, footwear and accessories shall be other prominent categories in the mix with positioning similar to brands such as the Body Shop, Hidesign, Vero Moda, Only, Sisley, Bata etc. in addition to having the largest hyper market being operated by Relaince.
Q. Why you chose Sahibabad as a location to open your mall, don’t you think that the vicinity is already occupied by many other malls. What do you have to say about the competition?
Over the last 5 years, East Delhi-Ghaziabad area has witnessed a tremendous boom in overall development and particularly residential growth due to the enhancement of infrastructure such as flyovers like Barapullah, Ghazipur etc which has reduced travel time to Delhi and Noida to 25 minutes. Metro connectivity has further made the region a preferred residential hub for the upwardly mobile professionals. The East Delhi Market and the customer has definitely matured over the last 5-8 years and while there have been a number of mainstream/mass shopping centres that are operational in this catchment (Mahagun, Shipra, EDM, Pacific etc), there is no shopping region or destination that is able to cater to the changing aspirations and demands of the customer in the market. In absence of any upscale shopping place, currently the customer frequently travels to South & Central Delhi for shopping. The trade and tenant mix at Europark shall be focussing on the upscale audience, catering to all their needs under one roof, for families, kids and the fashion conscious customer. In short EuroPark is a complete family destination catering to all needs of a family.
Q. Please tell us about the total built up area and gross leasable area of the mall?
Europark has over 1,000,000 Sq.ft. mixed-Use Development comprising of a 5 star Hotel, around 500,000 Sq.ft. of upscale shopping destination with premium retail, hypermarket, cinemas, food & entertainment.
Q. Parking space is of utmost importance for mall developers these days, please tell us about the parking space in your mall?
The mall has been developed with parking spaces more than two and half times the requirement as per by laws.
Q. Please share the list of the anchors present in your mall, can you share the details of few of the key vanilla retailers, those who have signed up with you?
The centre boasts of One of India’s largest Hypermarkets by Reliance, which is already operational at Europark and is performing exceptionally well. Spread across a lavish 120,000 Sq.ft, the hypermarket has been well-designed with aisle widths of 3 mtrs and heights of 6 mtrs , providing a convenient shopping experience. Other Anchors include a 1250 seater Broadway Cinemas, 30,000 sqft of Marks & Spencer and an over 30,000 sqft of a Foodcourt with popular food brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Kylin Express, Moti Mahal, Chaat Corner, Subway, Vango, Kebab Express etc.
Q. How important is good catchement area for the success of any mall, do, you think you are positioned fine in this context?
Already covered in above questions
Q. How much you invested in Europark, according to you how soon the mall will break-even?
Mall business has a long gestation period and break even happens between 7-10 years
Q. How you have positioned your mall?
Powered by STARCENTRES, EUROPARK is positioned as the first Premium shopping experience for the East Delhi- Ghaziabad customer!
Q. What you have to say about Europark’s mall zoning?
Already covered in above questions
Q. Who is managing you mall, according to you how important is mall management in today’s scenario?
Facilities management is being taken care by JLL. Mall management is an integral part for a successful shopping centre, it takes into account each and every aspect starting from Planning to execution.
Q. Please tell us about the design of your mall, what all you have done to keep dead spaces in a mall at a bay? Who has designed your mall?
The mall has been created keeping in mind the necessity of having constant interaction with the consumers and retailers. The mall is equipped with 70000 Sq.ft. Atrium and 20000 sq. ft. Podium designed to hold events and launches. Further every shop overlooks the Atrium and no dead spaces in the mall. The mall has been designed keeping in mind the latest development patterns, and the Architect of the project is Mr. Jaiswal.
