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Over 60 per cent international retail brands expanded operations in the July-December 2022 span after pandemic pause.

CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd, a real estate consulting firm, on Wednesday announced the findings of its report, India Retail Figures H2 2022' which said that Lucknow, Chandigarh, Indore and Dehradun are emerging retail destinations for brands.

The report said international brands such as Tim Hortons, Victoria's Secret, and Uniqlo continued to expand during July-December 2022 despite global headwinds. As Tier II cities continued to gain popularity, Uniqlo opened its first store in Chandigarh, Tim Hortons entered Ludhiana, and Starbucks, Biba, and Shoppers Stop opened in Dehradun.

During the second half of 2022, the American home furnishings shop chain Pottery Barn forayed into Delhi-NCR, opening two stores in rapid succession. Adidas opened its largest experience store in Delhi-NCR, while Zara, Nike and Azorte are among the other companies that have launched experience/flagship stores with a wide range of tech and other services in the city.

Fashion and apparel retailers continued to expand their footprint, accounting for a share of more than 42 per cent in overall leasing in July-December 2022. Other prominent categories that continued to drive leasing activity during July-December 2022 included food & beverage (~12%), along with hypermarket (~7%) categories. The entertainment category, which was impacted the most during the pandemic, also emerged as one of the top demand drivers during July-December 2022 with ~6 per cent share in overall space take-up.

Some prominent brands expected to launch in India over the next few months include Lavazza and Armani/Caffe from Italy, Jamba from the United States, and The Coffee Club from Australia.

According to the report, retail leasing activity surged by 5 per cent to 2.43 million sq ft in July-December 2022 as against 2.31 million sq ft reported in January-June 2022 period. Overall, in 2022, leasing activity in the retail sector grew by 20 per cent Y-o-Y to 4.7 million sq ft.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, "The Indian retail sector is recovering, and we anticipate that it will continue to gain momentum through 2023. Even amid difficult global economic conditions, international brands are expanding not only in tier-I cities but also penetrating tier-II and III cities as they see India as a potential market."