Consumption forecast growth drives mall mania, Report, Gabarone

FMCG SUPPLIER NEWS

WeekendPost.co.bw - Nov 18th, 10:21

There is a proliferation of shopping malls in Gaborone, in the last decade, raising questions of whether locals have the spending power to sustain the malls, economically. Property developers concede that the retail property market is subdued but remains one of the most viable business propositions to date. 

Some concerns by observers in the property market regarding the viability of the mushrooming shopping malls in Sub Saharan Africa can be allayed, suggests a report released by Deutsche Bank recently. The report indicates that consumer spending accounted for more than 60 percent of Sub Saharan Africa’s gross income.

The report suggests that anticipated future growth of consumption in Africa, specifically sub Saharan Africa, will stand the retail property market in good stead.

Big property developers in Botswana will not rest yet owing to the available purchasing power and the growth of the middle class. Mall mania is now hitting some of Botswana’s semi urban areas like Mahalapye, Palapye and Molepolole.

“From 2012 to 2020, consumer facing industries are expected to grow by $410 billion, with apparel, consumer goods and food accounting for $185 billion. Indeed, more than half of African households are forecast to have discretionary income by 2020- almost 130 million compared with 85 million today,” writes Dr Claire Schaffnit-Chatterjee, the author of the report.

The retail property boom in recent years has seen the rise of shopping malls such as Gamecity, Riverwalk, Molapo Crossing, Airport Junction, Sebele Centre, and Railpark in Gaborone. But Apex Properties Chief Operations, Officer, Guru Moordy, says that Gaborone can still accommodate five more shopping complexes.

Moordy concedes that currently, the recession has subdued the retail property market but he agrees with the report that the future is bright, even for the local retail property market.

“Property remains the best investment option, offering you a minimum of 25 percent returns on investment, if you hold your property for five years; no other investment can do that for you,” declares Moody confidently.

Moordy says that the growth in availability of shopping malls has greatly advantaged the consumer in that there are more convenience stores, citing Westgate Mall and Sebele Centre as shopping complexes that have really benefitted local consumers.

“People think that there is saturation of shopping malls in Gaborone; but that oversupply has greatly benefitted the consumer; these shopping malls have also had to diversify their offering, such as play parks, in order to attract the crowds, which also benefits the consumer,” asserts Moordy.

“There is constant migration of people into Gaborone and that is great for the retail market. There is also migration of people from the low income segment to higher income brackets, which means you can never go wrong with property, even when it is not at its best,” says Moordy. He reveals that Apex is currently building Bodiba Mall in Mogoditshane.

RDC Properties Limited Group General Manager says that the retail property market is tight at the moment. He says that it is linked to peoples’ disposable income and if government could make more consumer income available, by way of salary increases, the retail property market would become more viable.











From WeekendPost.co.bw