more as a reference point , with the majority of shoppers preferring to enter the physical retail environment .”
THE FUTURE : The future for retail development in South Africa lies in high-quality offerings in high LSM areas – malls just larger than convenience centres , ranging from 15 000m ² to 25 000m ² in size – said Blows . Such developments were not just retail-orientated , but also offered health and lifestyle components , mixed with high-end office space , he said .
“ The tenant uptake is good because the trading densities are high . These are niche centres which are trading very well at the moment .”
Trends show a rise in demand for centres offering a mix of office , health and lifestyle facilities , especially in Johannesburg and Cape Town where traffic congestion meant residents wanted to work , exercise , shop and eat out – all within easy reach , said Blows .
Market research conducted by Abacus ahead of the development of Dainfern showed that the area – Fourways – was one of the highest growth areas in the country . The company is opening its next high-end mixed use retail development in October in the form of The Sanctuary in Somerset West – not far from Abacus ’ s other celebrated boutique centre , Waterstone Village .
DAYS NUMBERED FOR MEGA MALLS : Jaco Odendaal – one of the country ’ s leading development visionaries and Abacus chairman – said there were very few opportunities left for the construction of new mega malls unless we accept a high level of cannibalism . The company ’ s last mega mall was the 90 000m ² Baywest Mall .
“ There are very few opportunities left to develop large malls . The market has reached maturity in that respect . You ’ ll see a lot of expansion on large malls , and a redevelopment of their offerings , but in terms of demographics , they are basically fixed for the time being ,” he said .
Despite this , super regional malls remained the best performing assets over the long term , he said .
The company expected the current economic climate to gradually improve , he said .
“ The property sector is a long-term investment and we believe that interest rates have reached their peak . The economy has had slow or no growth for an extended period , and in time retail spending will once again increase as the economy expands and households have more disposable income ,” Odendaal said .
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