Waiting for footfalls

The hordes that populate north Indian weddings now have a new destination to shop at — the North Country Mall at Mohali, Chandigarh, is set to open soon. But the biggest draw for retailers may be the fact that this is the first 100% FDI construction project in India — the mall is being developed by US-based JJ Gumberg Co and is backed by the Sun-Apollo Real Estate PE fund. Gumberg has spent Rs 800 crore on the construction of the retail hub, which, thanks to its 21.6-acre sprawl and 1 million sq ft of store space, is set to be Punjab’s biggest mall. Attractions include a 3,000-car parking facility, a 36,000 sq ft food court and anchor brands PVR, Lifestyle, Marks & Spencer and Central. With several extra-large malls across India struggling to hold up commercially, will the sun shine on this maiden foreign-funded project or will this be yet another mall with foggy prospects?