In a primary survey conducted by Knight Frank across 30 high streets of the top eight cities of India, it has been determined that Bengaluru has best of high streets that provide significantly better shopping experience with 4 of its markets making to the top 10 list.
The top ten high streets are those that are convenient in terms of access, parking facilities and with a varied assortment of retailers. Contrary to common perception, the top high streets are not the ones demanding the highest rent.
Inward looking markets like Khan Market (Delhi) and DLF Galleria (Gurugram) scored very low, whereas markets aligned along the access road like MG Road (Bengaluru), Somajiguda (Hyderabd), Linking Road (Mumbai), Anna Nagar, Park Street and Camac Street (Kolkata) scored high.
Ahmedabad and Pune do not house any of the top 10 high streets. Ahmedabad’s SG Highway has the highest spending quotient amongst the 30 high streets surveyed.
Indian high streets occupy only 6% of the total gross leasable area as compared to the shopping mall stock, however, in terms of efficiency, high streets offer 100% efficacy due to low maintenance costs, whereas in the case of shopping malls, the efficiency can range anywhere between 50% - 60% depending on the grade of the shopping mall. This is largely due to high maintenance costs for common areas, central air conditioning and escalators.
