RACK REVOLUTION: Forum, on Elgin Road. A study says that smaller malls must reinvent to stay afloat in the emerging scenario. A Telegraph picture

Larger-than-life malls, covering 500,000 sq ft upwards, incorporating a large entertainment zone with ample parking ? one car slot for every 350 sq ft of built-up mall space ? and value-added infrastructure benefits to be passed on to the retailer. Better rentals and a huge scope for cross-pollination among the large retailer mix?

We are talking destination malls ? or ?GenX? malls ? which, according to a leading international real estate consultant, is the way forward in the city?s fast-evolving retail scenario.

A study conducted by Chesterton Meghraj reveals that GenX malls will be on the ?must-visit list of out-of-town visitors?, besides emerging as places to congregate and socialise at and addressing the ?lack of entertainment options? for the city populace.

?Calcutta, too, is sitting on the doorstep of this phenomenon, which is likely to trigger a migration chain among various categories of retailers,? says Abhijit Das, head operations, east, Chesterton Meghraj.

The smaller malls, the study assures, are not going to disappear. ?They will devise survival strategies to stay afloat,? says Das.

The study predicts that present-day malls of 250,000 sq ft or less, ?will, for the purposes of survival, cluster on the basis of category, price or target consumer appeal?.

The regular retailer, possibly the anchor, might relocate due to a predictable price advantage, to the GenX mall.

The void is likely to be filled by a retailer who fits the existing retail mix of the mall. This will give rise to a cyclical process, offering local players the opportunity to move into a formatted mall.

For instance, a garment wholesaler can replace an apparel anchor, says the study.

These malls will then reinvent themselves as ?neighbourhood malls? and cater to the immediate catchment, with a focus on providing services like home deliveries, which the big malls will be unable to provide.

Another impact of clustering of like-minded retailers will be the inadvertent formation of speciality malls, since retailers of the same category will be together.

?The smaller malls will require a foolproof survival strategy to counter the possible impact of the mega malls,? the study predicts.

?As bigger malls come up, the smaller ones will narrow down their focus, either in terms of categories or pricing. For instance, there will be discounted malls or very expensive elite malls to create points of differential,? says Sumit Dabriwal, managing director of Calcutta Metropolitan Group, developers of Metropolis inside Hiland Park.

At the same time, there will be a plethora of speciality malls, in terms of product categories, from home to jewellery, automobiles to electronics, or even dedicated specialised places like a mall catering to pregnant women, young mothers and infants or to IT professionals.

Chesterton Meghraj feels the cluster effect is set to hit Calcutta in the next three years, with a host of malls scheduled to open up their footplates. While the Bypass is set to welcome Mani Square and Forum II, New Town Rajarhat will see a clutch of new projects, including City Centre II, a home mall by the Shrachi Group and the Peerless marketplace. Outstation majors DLF and Unitech are planning their own foray into retail as well.

The property consultant feels the South City Mall, with its 700,000 sq ft of retail space, will become the city?s premier destination mall, once it?s up and running, for its ?sheer size and variety of options?.

The upcoming Forum II (the final configuration of which is yet to be firmed up) opposite Science City and the existing City Centre, Charles Correa?s signature mixed-use project in Salt Lake, also qualify as ?destination malls? in Chesterton's books.