Retail momentum swings higher as Novare builds $83m Lekki Mall

Nigeria’s retail market growth is increasingly gaining momentum especially across major Nigerian cities and beyond as investors look more committed than ever to deepen the market with new offerings.

The up-coming Lekki Mall with an estimated construction cost of $83 million is a new addition to the little over 200,000 square metres retail space expected across 10 major cities in the next 24 months.

The retail wave in the country, driven by demographics, rapid urbanisation and changing shopping culture, has seen renowned retailers such as Shoprite, Park ‘n’ Shop, Spar, Game and Mr. Price, pushing to deepen their footprints and possibly replicate Indian’s retail boom story in Nigeria.

Analysts predict that with the coming of more notable brands such as Inglot, Gap and Tommy Hilfiger to the retail scene, the demand for retail space would surge, adding that this, coupled with rising consumer spending power of the emerging middle class, informs new retailer’s decision to invest in the market. Novare Property Development is one of the new entrants and the company is here to build the new Lekki Mall to be located at the intersection of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and Springville Road

The mall which is surrounded by private estates also has the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos Business School, Lakowe Lakes Golf Estate and the proposed Lekki International Airport as its close neighbours.

According to its promoters, the mall’s consumer strength also lies in the presence of new estates in the catchment area, a homogeneous top end target market with high volume of vehicular traffic through the site.

“We still firmly believe in the strength of the Nigerian consumer in the formal retail space, given the severe shortage of formal retail offerings available to such a vast population,” Hein du Plessis, Novare Property Development’s project manager, told BusinessDay in an interview.

Designed as a single level shopping centre, Lekki Mall will, on delivery, offer 100 shops in its expansive 22,000 square metre Gross Leasable Area (GLA), making it the biggest mall in Lagos when delivered by April, 2016.

Distinguishing the Mall from its contemporaries, the project manager enthused, “this is not Novare’s first development in Nigeria. We have a track record, as well as an integrated supply chain, that helps us in achieving better economies of scale and ensuring our final development is of a standard unsurpassed by other developments in the city.

BusinessDay findings reveal that the mall will be anchored by South African retail giant, Shoprite and Game while other confirmed tenants include Adidas, Lifemate, Puma, Swatch, Celio, KFC, Wakaberry, Max, Mr. price, Ingot, Samsung amongst others.”The mall promises a mix of international and local tenants such that it will appeal to a broad segment of the consumer base”, Hein added.

On funding, the promoters explained that the project was funded by the Novare Africa Property Fund – a Mauritius domiciled private equity fund which has South African Pension Funds as investors, while the debt funding would be provided by a local bank.

ODINAKA MBONU