Cars crawl to opening of mega mall

The grand opening of the Mall of Africa caused heavy traffic congestion,Johannesburg’s R5bn Mall of Africa, which has over 300 shops, opened its doors on Thursday to visitors which form the iconic hub of the innovative Waterfall precinct, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria. 348 Photo: Matthews Baloyi 29/04/2016

The grand opening of the Mall of Africa caused heavy traffic congestion,Johannesburg’s R5bn Mall of Africa, which has over 300 shops, opened its doors on Thursday to visitors which form the iconic hub of the innovative Waterfall precinct, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria. 348 Photo: Matthews Baloyi 29/04/2016

Published Apr 30, 2016

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Johannesburg - They may be cash-strapped, but for consumers, Joburg shopping centres like the newly-launched Mall of Africa, offer “new spaces of urban sociality”, largely because they have tight security.

“Malls offer what many claim to be new spaces of urban sociality, particularly relevant in Joburg, where the security of these spaces is touted as one of the key reasons people go there, protected by (often low waged) security guards,” says Bridget Kenny, an associate professor of sociology at Wits University.

Kenny, who studies retailing arenas and consumption practices, says South Africa ranks seventh in the global ranking of shopping mall centre space.

Urban Studies, a property market research firm, reveals that South Africa has more than 23 million square metres in shopping centre space and a further 2 million sq m either planned or under construction.

Gauteng provides the highest percentage of the retail industry contribution nationally, she says.

Still, as mall developments expand, “there are concerns of overtrading.

“Economic expansion through these types of developments creates something of a bubble that is reliant on the spending of overstretched consumers and on the continuance of high returns through these investments.

“In addition, and, quite centrally, retailing relies generally on low wage, precarious employment.

“Retail workers have few benefits and very few career path options. Malls tap into a growing middle-class consumption base (and credit is also important to explain this). Buying stuff offers people a means of constructing identities.”

Zandile Makhoba, the head of research for JLL South Africa, a real estate advisory business, warns against the oversupply of retail space in Joburg. “Society is already overindebted and that puts pressure on the ability of consumers to spend. So now, you may see that trade densities in existing malls may reduce.”

But over the long term, the prospects look brighter. “As the city grows, it will need to accommodate an increased population - we’ve got Fourways extending towards the West, and Waterfall City and Midrand, where we’re seeing a lot of residential development. All of that warrants some additional retail accommodation.”

She describes the super-regional Mall of Africa as a destination. “It’s a huge mall, bringing in a lot of new retailers we’ve never had. It’s a totally different experience - we’ve heard of people coming in from Polokwane to see this mall and we’re going to see a lot of tourist activity to the mall itself because it’s offering something different.”

Dirk Prinsloo jr, one of the directors of Urban Studies, says Midrand has been a growth area for the past 20 years and “definitely warranted a super regional centre” like Mall of Africa. “Looking at the bad credit data, I think we’re definitely going to see some shocks that are going to happen. Malls are going to struggle. But if you’re in a good location and provide the correct products to the correct markets, you’ll do well.”

He adds malls like Cradlestone on the West Rand and Forest Hill City Mall in Centurion were built “prematurely” but will “grow into their own”.

Saturday Star

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