Tag: Mall

  • Sephora heads to Seoul, Korea

    Sephora heads to Seoul, Korea

    LVMH-owned cosmetics retailer Sephora will launch its first outlet in South Korea this October.

    The first Sephora South Korea retail space will take up 547sqft in Gangnam, featuring hundreds of brands as well as home-brand products under the Sephora label.

    “Sephora will contribute to expanding the local beauty market by proposing a new standard,” said Sephora Korea CEO Kim Dong-ju.

    The Sephora South Korea store will be the first of six planned to be trading by next year, along with an online store.

    Sephora operates more than 3000 outlets worldwide and has a strong presence in Asia. It also plans to make a return to Hong Kong soon, opening in space at IFC mall.

  • Massimo Dutti Singapore opens at Jewel Changi

    Massimo Dutti Singapore opens at Jewel Changi

    Massimo Dutti Singapore has launched its sixth store, at Jewel Changi. The Inditex-owned fashion label’s almost 600sqm retail space features the brand’s newest design concept for the first time in Southeast Asia and following the opening of a similar outlet in Munich, Germany.

    Designed to look like a New York apartment, the new interior design layout expresses the natural evolution of the brand. The store concept is focused on lifestyle, offering a more enticing setting via the use of warm, high-quality materials such as wooden furniture and finishes and the use of plants – a blending of contemporary designer furniture that greatly reinforces this updated identity.

    As Massimo Dutti Singapore’s second largest store after Liat Tower, the new venue is in line with the Inditex Group’s latest approach to eco-efficiency.

    Electricity consumption has been reduced by some 30 per cent and water consumption by 40 per cent in comparison with its conventional stores. The eco-efficiency measures implemented include a store lighting system that optimises the lighting for the furnishings, and the exclusive use of LED bulbs. The lighting system also enables partial lighting of store spaces.

    The Changi store also features a Travel Collection, with easy-iron shirts and lightweight crease-resistant suits.

  • Sunway Pyramid Launches First Real-Time Indoor Navigation Mobile App In Malaysia

    Sunway Pyramid Launches First Real-Time Indoor Navigation Mobile App In Malaysia

    Navigating through a shopping mall has never been this easy – and rewarding! The newly launched Sunway Pyramid Mobile app is the very first shopping mall app with real-time in-mall navigation, set to revolutionise the shopping experience.

    With over 1,000 exciting specialty stores available in Sunway Pyramid, making one’s way around the 1.8 million sq ft of space that spans over four main shopping levels can prove to be quite the challenge.

    Sunway Pyramid is working closely with the Google Indoor Maps team to integrate their mobile app with Google’s map engine for the upcoming versions of the app – shoppers can say goodbye to spending more time searching for a physical counter or directory to get to their desired location.

    “As a shopping mall that listens to the needs of our customers, this is a great way to provide them with peace of mind as well as personalized content and exclusive rewards & offers for a better and more enjoyable experience – all at their fingertips. We hope that the introduction of the Sunway Pyramid Mobile App gives them more reason to continue choosing us as their preferred lifestyle destination,” said Kevin Tan, Chief Operating Officer of Sunway Malls.

    That’s not all as shoppers will be rewarded for their usage of the app, giving them better value for their time spent in the mall. App-exclusive rewards await them at participating tenants such as YSL, Laneige, Sulwhasoo, Yves Rocher, Chanel, Dorothy Perkins, Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton Menswear London, Nelissa Hilman, Hush Puppies, Love Bonito, JD Sports, NY Steak Shack, Genki Sushi, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Mr Roti Canai, Brotzeit, O.W.L, Gem Studio and Tomei.

    The fun does not stop there, as users can take a quiz in the app to determine their shopping persona. Find out if you are a Trendsetter, Digital Genius, Family Hero, Smart Spender or Golden Groover by answering a few simple questions – this information along with the shoppers’ navigation patterns, redemption and browsing behaviour will be considered to further personalise content that is relevant and targeted for each user.

    To find out more about what the Sunway Pyramid Mobile app can do, shoppers can join in the fun by visiting the on-ground event at the Water Feature on G Floor from 12-28 April.

    Upon downloading the app and registering, shoppers can scan their Member ID to enjoy rewards and gifts such as samples from Laneige, L’occitane, Clinique, Sulwhasoo, cash vouchers from Genki Sushi, complimentary milkshakes from NY Steak Shack and shopping vouchers amongst many others. Other activities include multiple photo op areas with a photo booth and even a relaxation lounge with massage chairs!

    The Sunway Pyramid Mobile App will be available for download via the Google Play Store and Apple AppStore on 12 April 2019. For a full tutorial on how to use the app, please visit YouTube link here.

  • Parkson Vietnam Restyles Its Ho Chi Minh City flagship

    Parkson Vietnam Restyles Its Ho Chi Minh City flagship

    Parkson Vietnam has kicked off the renovation of its six-story Saigon Tourist Plaza flagship in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

    Located on Le Thanh Ton, refurbishment of the first Parkson Vietnam store will be implemented progressively, floor by floor.

    During the project, the Parkson store will remain partially open for business.

    The company says the renovation will deliver a new look, new shopping experience featuring modern facilities, and a higher standard of service for shoppers.

    It says the new store design concept will turn the store into an all-in-one destination that offers a combination of shopping, food & beverage, and entertainment.

    New brands in fashion, beauty and lifestyle will be added.

    Ready to welcome Uniqlo?

    The first flagship store of Uniqlo Vietnam will be located in the revamped store.

    The Japanese fast-fashion retailer is reportedly set to occupy three levels of the building, facing the H&M store at Vincom on Dong Khoi Street.

    Uniqlo Vietnam will open doors sometime between September and November this year.

    The renovation of the Parkson Saigon Tourist store is understandable as the building is old and has been poorly managed for a long time.

    If the Japanese fast-fashion brand is really opening its first store there, it should rapidly increase traffic to the building.

    After 14 years of operation, Parkson Vietnam has closed five stores, including the last one in Hanoi.

    It now manages five stores, with three in Ho Chi Minh City, and one each in Hai Phong and Danang.

  • Cineleisure mall unveils new retail concept

    Cineleisure mall unveils new retail concept

    Cineleisure mall has unveiled its new look, welcoming three new tenants. Targeting youth, the revamped mall gets interiors fitted with concrete juxtaposed against rustic wood timber, with a blend of earthy hues and cool steel palettes.

    The mall also extends its mix of food, fashion, and entertainment choices.

    Three new concepts are added this month including Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ and Shabu Shabu, The Alley Luxe, and Amazing Castle.

    New tenants

    Making its debut in Singapore, Taiwanese bubble tea chain The Alley is set to feature its first-ever premium lifestyle cafe concept The Alley Luxe. The outlet will offer the brand’s beverages alongside European-inspired foods such as croissants and cruffins.

    Japanese restaurant Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ & Shabu Shabu will offer a premium buffet, along with Donburi sets.

    As the first of its kind in Singapore and in Asia, Amazing Castle is a kingdom-themed entertainment play centre consisting of nine different activity stages.

    Based on the legend of a fairy kingdom being attacked by invaders, each activity stage features a physically interactive game for participants to confront challenges and ‘fight off invaders’.

    New redemption

    Cineleisure has also launched the Cathay Lifestyle Mall Redemption Mobile app, which allows shoppers to make redemptions seamlessly anywhere, anytime.

    Shoppers who spend a minimum amount at the mall have to photograph their receipt and upload via the app. Once verified, e-vouchers will be sent to the shopper for use at participating shops.

  • Ikea to open first small-format store in Sydney

    Ikea to open first small-format store in Sydney

    Ikea Australia’s first small-format store is set to open in Sydney’s Westfield Warringah Mall at the beginning of May.

    The Ikea Planning Studio will provide shoppers on the Northern Beaches with a place to plan and build their dream kitchens and bedrooms. Staff on-site will be equipped with tablets and provide one-on-one consultations to help customers select the right products from Ikea’s range of furniture, appliances, storage solutions and more.

    This stands in sharp contrast to the massive, showroom-cum-warehouse stores that Ikea traditionally has been famous for. But the shifting retail landscape has seen the Swedish furniture giant globally adapt its offer by launching e-commerce sites, providing more do-it-for-me services and, increasingly, experimenting with smaller stores in urban centres.

    “At Ikea, we know Australians are looking for new and more convenient ways to shop their favourite products. We’re excited to be bringing bespoke Ikea shopping experiences to Aussies around the country in locations that suit them,” Ikea Australia country manager Jan Gardberg said.

    “We’ve chosen Warringah Mall as our first location in order to reach even more Australians that live within urban areas, outside of the city centre.”

    The Planning Studio seemingly aims to provide a more immersive shopping experience, with a “luxe bedroom environment” that will transport shoppers to a “hub of femininity through floral scents and classic detailing” and a “soothing wellness sanctuary” that will feature a variety of kitchen solutions.

    In a separate initiative, the retailer currently is hosting a series of “sleepovers” at stores across the country, where select customers can experience how Ikea’s range of sleep solutions – that is, mattresses, bedding and other items – provide a better night’s sleep. This suggests Ikea is looking for ways to interact with customers on a more personalised and experiential level.

    “We want to inspire people to get creative and explore the possibilities of our range. The launch of our small format stores is just another way we’re helping Australians to create personalised and functional spaces within the home,” Gardberg said.

    The Planning Studio’s design was inspired by Scandinavian modern style and Ikea’s design values of sustainability, quality, form, function and affordability, the retailer said, and created with the eco-friendly shopper in mind.

  • Sunways Malls Welcomes the Cashless Revolution

    Sunways Malls Welcomes the Cashless Revolution

    Ever since Bank Negara embarked on a 10-year roadmap to move towards a cashless society, the ever growing trend of cashless transactions has been increasing and is popular amongst the Gen-Y and Millennial Generation. Sunway Malls took the initiative to bring in leading e-wallet companies such as Boost, FavePay, GrabPay, Maybank QRPay, Touch ‘n Go Pay, and WeChat Pay for exclusive face-to-face sessions with retailers at a closed door conference held at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.

    No longer do you need to carry around cash and credit cards as your mobile phone can do the paying! Numerous e-payment players in the market have emerged and is providing shoppers with better deals and convenience.

    Benefits of e-payment:

    • Enhances shopper experience
    • Increased sales
    • Quick and convenient

    “As the payment market continues to evolve, it is imperative that we stay abreast with development of cashless payment to cater to new consumer demands”, said H.C Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Malls & Theme Parks.

    Retailers who attended the conference were treated to a detailed and in-depth look at how cashless transactions would benefit their business and increase their sales through intimate small group discussions with the five e-wallet companies. To date, close to 35% of retailers across Sunway Malls are using some sort of e-wallet payment at their outlets and the malls hopes to increase this number to cater to the ever growing trend of cashless payments.

    The conference keynote was presented by Mr. Peter Schiesser, Group Chief Executive Officer of Payment Networks Malaysia (PayNet), Malaysia’s premier payments network and central infrastructure for financial markets. Mr. Deep Chowdhury, Client Service Director (Consumer Insights) from Nielsen Malaysia spoke on the topic of ‘Cash or Cashless? Malaysia’s Payment Landscape’ and shared insights on current Malaysian purchasing and spending behaviour in the retail industry and beyond.

    Over 350 brands attended the conference which was also Sunway Malls’ annual Business Partner Meeting to receive the latest updates on the current market outlook and upcoming plans for each mall.

    Sunway Malls is gearing to be amongst Malaysia’s largest mall owner-operator as existing projects and those in the pipeline now stand at 7.7 million sqft NLA and that figure is planned to be increased to 10.2 million sqft NLA by 2020.

    The malls are:-

    Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway

    Sunway Velocity Mall, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

    Sunway Big Box Village, Johor Bahru (opening 2019)

    Sunway Putra Mall, Kuala Lumpur

    Sunway Carnival Mall, Penang

    Sunway Citrine Hub, Johor Bahru

    Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara

  • First UFC Gym opens at CityLink Mall, Singapore

    First UFC Gym opens at CityLink Mall, Singapore

    UFC Gym Singapore has opened its first branch at CityLink Mall.

    The gym has been opened under a franchise agreement with local operator NF Fitness, which is planning to expand to 15 gyms during the next decade.

    “We will have access to best-qualified coaches, as well as top-notch gym-training equipment,” said Barnabas Huang, UFC Gym Singapore’s MD.

    The gym aims to combine MMA and fitness, including functional workouts (Daily Ultimate Training, TRX Suspension Training), MMA classes (boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay thai) as well as group fitness classes (Zumba and yoga).

    It has gained more than 300 members since pre-sales began in January and about 1500 more are being targeted.

    UFC Singapore may face competition from other MMA academies in Singapore, such as Evolve MMA, Juggernaut Fight Club, Fight G and Impact MMA.

    The American gym chain already has more than 160 gyms in more than 14 countries.

  • Jollibee Guam flagship Restaurant Opening Early April

    Jollibee Guam flagship Restaurant Opening Early April

    Filipino fast food chain Jollibee, the largest and fastest-growing Asian restaurant company in the world, is soon to open its flagship brand in Guam.

    The first Jollibee Guam outlet will launch at Micronesia Mall on Saturday, April 6.

    “We’ve seen people queue even in extreme weather to enjoy our unique and tasty food,” said Jollibee Foods Corporation’s president and head of international business Dennis Flores. “We invite everyone – Chamorus, Micronesians, mainland Americans in Guam; everyone here in Guam – to come taste and see for themselves why people are willing to wait and line up for our food.”

    With Jollibee operating in Guam – where America’s day begins – the company says it can claim that it is serving food to more diners on American soil at any given moment of the day or night. Jollibee has 37 stores in the US.

    Jollibee, from its humble beginnings as an ice cream house in 1975, quickly grew into a fast-food giant with more than 1300 stores worldwide. Its openings have drawn queues with people lining up to 20 hours for a taste of their Jollibee favourites.

  • Lippo Mall Puri in West Jakarta sells

    Lippo Mall Puri in West Jakarta sells

    Reit Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) plans to buy Lippo Mall Puri in West Jakarta for US$261.6 million.

    LMIRT Management, which runs LMIRT, said in a statement it has entered into a conditional sale-and-purchase agreement for the 115,600sqm mall, which will boost the Reit’s total net lettable area by about 10 per cent. Settlement is scheduled for the second half of this year.

    Lippo Mall Puri has seven floors of retail space – five above ground and two basement levels. The mall currently has 324 tenants including Uniqlo, Zara, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Best Denki and Adidas. It is anchored by Parkson and Matahari department stores and also includes dining, cinema and entertainment zones. At the end of last year it had an occupancy rate of 89.6 per cent.

    The property’s current owner is Mandiri Cipta Gemilang, which will provide ongoing support after the sale is completed.

    LMIRT Management CEO Gouw Vi Ven says that since Lippo Mall Puri was completed in July 2014, the average monthly footfall has grown from 176,000 to nearly 1.22 million.

  • Jewel Changi mall planned to open on April 17

    Jewel Changi mall planned to open on April 17

    Changi Airport’s mega retail and lifestyle development Jewel Changi Airport will open on April 17, senior minister of state for transport Lam Pin Min has announced. The 10-story complex consisting of five storeys above ground and five basement floors will be home to more than 280 shops and food and beverage (F&B) outlets and an 11-screen cineplex. Fast-food chain A&W will mark its Singapore return at the new mall and Swiss chocolatier Laderach will open its first outlet there. Other retailers include include Norwegian casual-seafood restaurant Pink Fish and American fine casual chain Shake Shack.

    The first overseas outlet of Pokemon Center is also ready to open.

    Jewel Changi will also be home to a long list of local brands, including design retailer Naiise, gallery store Supermama and Tiger Beer which will be launching a first-in-the-world Tiger Street Lab on level 5.

    Local chef Violet Oon will open her largest restaurant – more than 350sqm in size – offering local delicacies, such as dry laksa.

    Sneak peek for residents

    Ahead of the opening, Singapore residents will get to have a sneak peek of the new development.

    From April 11 to 16, 500,000 free tickets will be available for the public to visit Jewel Changi Airport, allocated in three-hour time blocks each day to avoid congestion.

    Registration will open online at jewelpreview.com at 6am on March 12. Each member of the public can register for up to four participants.

    “Visitors will be able to explore various points of interest in Jewel, such as the lush greenery of the four-storey Forest Valley with two walking trails and take in the magnificent 40m Rain Vortex, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall,” Changi Airport Group announced.

    “They will also be able to shop or dine at more than 90 per cent of Jewel’s 280 shopping and dining outlets.”

    Travel experience for tourists

    On top of the retail offer, Jewel Changi Airport will feature aviation facilities that will improve the travel experience for passengers, such as early check-in facilities, integrated ticketing and baggage services for fly-cruise and fly-coach transfers.

    The new T1/Jewel car park – spanning five underground levels B2M to B5 – will also be fully operational from April 11, following the development of Terminal 4.

  • Indian mall supply industry booming

    Indian mall supply industry booming

    A three-fold jump in Indian mall supply from 3.2 million sqft last year to nearly 10 million sqft this year has been reported in India, following supply rollover from the previous year.

    The figures were outlined in the research report Customer Experience (CX) – The Epicentre of Retailing by property consultant firm Anarock, released at the Retail Leadership Summit 2019 in Mumbai this week. The report finds that customer experience and ‘built environment’ are completely metamorphosing the retail business in the country, and that these trends have already started influencing and impacting both the online and the offline retail segments.

    “With the new e-commerce policy in effect from early this month, online retail giants are realigning their business strategies and focussing to expand their offline presence,” said Anarock chairman Anuj Puri.

    “Brick-and-mortar retailers who were earlier under threat from e-commerce can now look forward to a more level playing field and tap into the rapidly growing Indian consumer market with renewed confidence and business prospects. The new e-commerce policy will bring parity between the online and offline retailers and address the concern of data colonisation as well. Even as online players may lose many of their competitive advantages – such as high price discounts on their private labels – brick-and-mortar stores will focus on offering superior customer experience to enhance customer loyalty.

    “The new e-commerce policy will cause online retail entities to invest seriously in offline stores,” he continued. “They will consider tie-ups with offline retailers or buy stakes in them. However, as competition stiffens, customer experience will be the key differentiator to the success and sustenance of any new retail venture.”

    Kumar Rajagopalan, Retailers Association of India CEO, added: “A combination of essential and value-added services, along with sound marketing strategy, is now the key to customer attraction and therefore successful mall performance. F&B and entertainment are critical ingredients for attracting footfalls into retail developments. Simultaneously, style, variety, and overall quality of malls also play crucial roles in ensuring customer satisfaction.”

    Historically dominated by unorganised mom-and-pop stores, the Indian retail sector’s dynamics are rapidly changing post liberalisation and subsequent e-commerce boom across the country. The rise in internet subscribers and active social media users, changing lifestyles and increasing disposable incomes have transformed the rural and urban consumer bases alike. This dynamic resulted in the increasing prominence of e-commerce across the country, leading to India’s emergence as a key global retail market.

    Nearly $1.42 billion FDI has already been infused in the Indian markets between April 2000 to June 2018 – and global investments into Indian retail are all set to increase further, states the report. The Indian retail sector is expected to reach $1.750 trillion by 2026, due to changing demographics and increasing consumer expenditure, which is expected to rise to $3.6 trillion by 2020.

  • Sands China mall sales increase when land-based visitors return

    Sands China mall sales increase when land-based visitors return

    Sands China mall revenue rose 5.8 per cent last year as Mainland China visitor numbers rebounded. Sands China owns The Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central, The Parisian Macao and The Plaza Macao shopping centres which boast a combined 1.87 million sqft of retail-mall space. They form a key part of the company’s giant gaming and resorts business in the territory, which combined posted US$8.67 billion in sales last year, up more than 14 per cent, and achieved a post-tax profit of $1.87 billion, up 17 per cent.

    The company says mall revenues for the year increased 5.8 per cent overall to $507 million, compared to $479 million the previous year.

    The increase was primarily driven by higher turnover fees from Shoppes at Four Seasons, Shoppes at Venetian and Shoppes at Cotai Central, and from additional retail space becoming available at Cotai Central.

    The strongest-performing mall complex was the smallest of the four, The Plaza Macao, which has the 241,548sqft gross leasable area (GLA). It achieved 99 per cent occupancy with a base rent of $460 per sqft and tenant sales of $4373 per sqft, contributing $145 million in revenue, up 10.7 per cent year on year.

    The weakest-performing mall was The Parisian Macao, with 89.8 per cent occupancy of its 295,915sqft GLA. Base rent per sqft was $156 and tenant sales per sqft $649. Revenue there fell 13.6 per cent year on year to just $57 million.

    The company’s largest Macau property, and its first, The Venetian Macao, has 813,376sqft of GLA. It achieved total mall revenues of $233 million last year – up 6.4 per cent – with 90.3 per cent occupancy, a base rent of $263 and tenant sales of $1746.

    Sands Cotai Central, with 519,681sqft GLA, achieved $69 million in revenue – up 9.5 per cent – and achieved 91.5 per cent occupancy. Base rent was $108 and tenant sales $892.

    Sands China said its food and beverage revenues rose 4.1 per cent last year to $304 million, driven primarily by increased foot traffic.

    Chairman Sheldon G Adelson said Macao’s development and evolution as Asia’s leading tourism destination accelerated during the year, with market-wide visitation from China reaching a record 25.2 million visits, an increase of 14 per cent compared to last year.

  • Hong Kong’s Link REIT Buys Shenzhen Mall for RMB 6.6B

    Hong Kong’s Link REIT Buys Shenzhen Mall for RMB 6.6B

    Link Asset Management has bought the Centralwalk shopping mall in Shenzhen’s CBD via its real estate investment trust. The RMB6.6 billion (US$981.9 million) transaction marks Link REIT’s first acquisition in Shenzhen, the second in the Greater Bay Area and its fifth in Mainland China, all in tier-one cities. Centralwalk is a five-storey retail centre in Shenzhen’s Futian District, home to the South China head offices of Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations and leading domestic firms. The property sits atop two subway lines, providing a 14-minute link to Hong Kong and less than an hour to most parts of the Pearl River Delta region.

    “The acquisition marks another milestone in our expansion in China,” said Link CEO George Hongchoy.

    “Centralwalk is seated in the heart of the city’s booming commercial hub. It is strategically located at the juncture of two popular subway lines in Shenzhen and within a five-minute walk from the Futian high speed rail station. We see enormous upside potential in this asset as we will apply our expertise in asset enhancement and placemaking to attract footfall to this mall, unleashing its potential as a leisure and entertainment landmark in Shenzhen.”

    Upon settlement of the transaction next month, Link REIT will control approximately 5 million sqft of retail and office space in four tier-one cities on the Mainland: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with Mainland Chinese assets representing about 13.1 per cent of Link’s total asset value.

    “The acquisition will enable us to capture the exponential growth spurred by the high speed rail link and the Greater Bay Area development,” Hongchoy added. “With diversification of markets, we continue to play to our strengths to offer investors steady income and long-term growth opportunities.”

    Centralwalk has a retail floor area of about 903,100sqft, and its retail occupancy currently stands at around 100 per cent. It has a gross monthly passing income of RMB 23.8 million as at December last year.

    The property houses a wide variety of familiar brands and a dynamic mix of retailers, covering food and beverage, fashion, accessories, education, lifestyle, health and beauty, a supermarket and a cinema.

    Link is anticipating the opportunity to enhance the property’s rental reversion and performance through trade-mix and tenant-mix upgrade, given that retail tenancies expiring in 2019, 2020 and 2021 represent approximately 25.5 per cent, 24.8 per cent and 18.0 per cent respectively.

  • World’s first digital mall launched in India by Digital Mall of Asia

    World’s first digital mall launched in India by Digital Mall of Asia

    In a revolutionary development that could potentially redefine the global retail and e-commerce industries, Digital Mall of Asia (DMA), a first-of-its-kind digital e-commerce platform merging the real estate and the digital spaces, has announced the launch of its Noida mall. The launch took place at the company’s registered office in the Film City, Noida, setting an unprecedented example of how online portals and brick-and-mortar retailers can transcend the digital-physical divide to optimize their consumer outreach and revenue generation.

    An initiative by Yokeasia Malls Pvt. Ltd., DMA is a disruptive innovation by an Indian organization recreating the experience of a physical mall in the digital space. In an industry where most of the key names are being run or backed by foreign players, this unique and disruptively innovative initiative by Yokeasia Malls has the potential to put the novelties of Digital India on the world map.

    The Need

    The launch of DMA Noida addresses the challenges that retailers often face and empowers them to maximize their business footprint with innovative digital offerings and an unmatched value proposition. DMA operates on a zero commission model; retailers at DMA don’t have to pay anything apart from the rent, a major revolution in a space where all the major E-commerce players charge somewhere between 5-35 percent of the revenue. Moreover, the organization will provide an immediate settlement of all payments received, ensuring complete transparency and reliability. It is also working towards completely eradicating the issue of the sale of counterfeit or fake merchandise. These unique features, apart from its focus on digital innovation, makes DMA a powerful and pioneering presence in the e-commerce space, both in India and on a global level.

    The Solution

    Going beyond the concept of a typical e-commerce portal, DMA’s Noida mall will have 11 towers with 10 floors each, adding up to a total of more than 5,000 shops and an available inventory currently worth approximately Rs 500 crore. The mall will incorporate visual and sensory elements to offer an immersive, stimulating environment and will have dedicated towers for different categories such as men, women, kids, electronics, home and kitchen, education, financial services, food court, hypermarket, digiplex, and online nightclub. Fundamentally, DMA Noida has all the elements that make up a physical mall, albeit virtually.

    The Value Addition

    By creating a new ‘digital asset’ class providing attractive returns, DMA also envisions to transform the general perception towards the term ‘investment’ while ensuring security, profit, and convenience for investors. The shops in the Noida mall are available for both sale (to investors) and rental (to retailers), whereas the shops in the rest of the 20 cities are available only to rent at present.

    Commenting on the launch and the idea behind, Rishabh Mehra, Managing Director and CEO – Digital Mall of Asia, remarked, “We, at Digital Mall of Asia, are beyond ecstatic to launch our Noida mall and we are certain of its potential to bring about a revolution in the digital and retail space worldwide. This project is aimed at serving many purposes, from an industry-wide transformation to retailer empowerment through our zero-commission model. But most importantly, DMA is our effort against data colonization. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Mukesh Ambani’s stance on how India’s data must be owned by Indians, and not controlled by global corporations. In this era of data-driven revolution, we hope that DMA’s disruptive innovation sets an example for our contemporaries to follow through and bring the ownership of Indian data back to where it belongs – in our own hands.”

    The launch in Noida also marks DMA’s first step towards a pan-India launch in 20 cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Coimbatore etc. After a pan-India expansion, DMA plans to expand its operations across the Asian market and has already begun the process of seller registration in China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore.