Sharjah Holding to have 4 community centres operational by mid 2012
Rule out oversupply in the retail space, at least, in Sharjah. Demand in the emirate will outstrip supply by almost 34 per cent till 2013, a study conducted by Sharjah Holding has found.
The company, a joint venture between the Sharjah government and Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Group, is looking to make good of the business opportunity by building neighborhood shopping centres.
Branded as Matajer, the first retail centre, covering 33,000 square feet of GLA, was recently opened to public at Al Qouz area in Sharjah. Three more centres will become operational in Al Juraina, Al Mirgab and Al Khan by mid next year.
"Our focus now is on neighbourhood retail though we are currently working on a mixed-use development as well. Our extensive research shows there will be demand at the community level... convenience and high quality retail offering is our key to success," said Khalifa bin Braik, Vice President - Asset Management and Business Development, Sharjah Holding.
Asked how many community centre were planned across the emirate, he added: "We will have four Matajer operational by next year... the shareholders are looking at three to five other locations just to ensure we keep on going ."
Uday Bhasin, Chief Financial Officer, Sharjah Holding, said they expect 3,000 to 5,000 daily visitors with most actually shopping than just strolling.
"People will come here to buy as opposed to in large malls... here people will come for a purpose and so the conversion rate is very high. That is why tenants love it."
He added that they generally pre-lease space and the current tenants have shown willingness to take up space in their next two or three malls.
"So in terms of break even or profitability it is less of an issue."
Jean Marc Meunier, Chief Operating Officer, Sharjah Holding, pointed out: "A mall like this (Al Qouz) has an efficiency of 71 per cent. It means the ratio between leased versus build up area was 71 per cent, while in a normal mall it was only 50 per cent. So the 50 per cent spent in construction does not generate any income."
Asked if the movement of tenants from Sharjah to Dubai would impact sales at community centres, he added: "The impact may be clearly felt in Corniche area... but it will not impact this one (Al Qouz) as the neighborhood is dominated by locals. But when we do our study, we will obviously reject a site if it surrounded by towers that are not occupied."
© Emirates 24|7 2011
