Bengaluru tops a list of 10 Indian cities ranked for the best high streets, "bustling and vibrant" places lined with businesses, restaurants and cafes.
Bengaluru’s MG Road is the best high street and the city has three other such shopping hubs, said a report by Knight Frank, a real estate consultant. Linking Road in Mumbai comes third. Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi follow Bengaluru in terms of quality high streets. Delhi's upscale Khan Market is not in the top 10 list but South Extension is.
Somajiguda in Hyderabad is second on the list in terms of quality.
Ahmedabad and Pune are not in the top 10 high streets. The top ten high streets are convenient in terms of access, parking and they have a varied assortment of retailers, Knight Frank said.
The company’s survey in eight cities checked 30 high streets based on parameters that determine the quality of experience high streets provide to customers.
Indian high streets occupy only 6 per cent of the total gross leasable area as compared to the shopping mall stock. High streets offer 100 per cent efficiency due to low maintenance costs. In shopping malls, the factor can range between 50 per cent and 60 per cent.
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This is largely due to malls' high maintenance cost for common areas, central air conditioning and escalators, according to Knight Frank.
Total high street retail stock is 13.2 million square feet spread across 4,875 retail stores in the top eight markets. Out of this, 5.7 million square feet is modern retail and 7.5 million square feet is non-modern retail.
“As cities in India are modernising, we see many high streets in the country reviving as facilities like access, parking, store visibility have improved,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director at Knight Frank India.
Ahmedabad's SG Highway has the highest spending quotient amongst the 30 high streets surveyed. Contrary to common perception, the top high streets are not the ones demanding the highest rent.
Knight Frank’s estimation for the potential consumption in the top 30 high streets stands at $2 billion in the current financial year (FY24), which represents 19 per cent of the potential consumption of $11 billion projected for operational shopping mall stock in FY24.
Also, the average monthly rents at high streets vary across the top eight cities. Some of the high streets captured in the survey are the country’s most expensive retail hubs.
| Top 10 high streets | |
| 1. Bengaluru | Mahatma Gandhi (MG) road |
| 2. Hyderabad | Somajiguda |
| 3. Mumbai | Linking road |
| 4. Delhi | South extension (part1 & 2) |
| 5. Kolkata | Park street and Camec street |
| 6. Chennai | Anna Nagar |
| 7. Bengaluru | Commercial street |
| 8.Noida | Sector 18 market |
| 9. Bengaluru | Brigade road |
| 10. Bengaluru | Church street |
| Potential consumption in FY24 | in billlion dollar |
| Shopping malls | 11 |
| High streets | 2 |
| Source: Knight Frank |
