India's first super luxury mall to open in Bangalore

India's first super luxury mall to open in Bangalore
2008-01-16 09:17:06 Source : CNBC-TV18
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It is touted to be the mecca for shopaholics, specially ones with expensive taste! India's first super luxury mall is all set to open its doors in Bangalore. CNBC-TV18’s Faye D'Souza and Ramya Ramamurthy get a sneak peek.



Imagine walking into a mall and being greeted by India's largest Louis Vuitton store, along with Gucci, Dunhill, Ferragamo, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Moschino and Stella MacCartney, in tow. That's exactly what UB City, the first of its kind super luxury mall in the country, plans to offer to the brand lovers of Bangalore. Evidently, the mall that opens its doors to customers on April 1 is commanding rental rates of Rs 650-700 per sq feet, a huge jump from comparable property prices in the city.



Neeraj Duggal, VP - Retail Development, Prestige Group said, “I think the kind of development we are offering, the king of mix, the kind of positioning. With the inputs and investment that has gone into it, I don't think it will be unreasonable.”



The mall covers 1,25,000 sq ft of space. Almost all of this area has been leased out, but the developers claim that 15,000 sq ft is still up for grabs. And it has several takers despite the high price.



But even if you were willing to shell out the big bucks, the developers claim they are being obsessively discerning about the brands they are willing to sign on as neighbors to likes of Louis Vuitton and Gucci



“The best international brands are all that we are looking at . It is not only certain people, certain brands, it’s also what fits into the positioning that we are looking at,“ Duggal said.


India's luxury market has been estimated at USD 1.4 billion and it’s expected to grow at an average of 15-20% a year, pegging it as one of the top five markets in the world. It’s no wonder then that luxury brands are making a beeline for India.