India’s organised retail leasing rises 20% to 3.9m sq ft in H1 2026
Organised retail leasing grew 20% year on year in H1 2026, led by fashion and apparel. Domestic retailers accounted for more than 70% of activity, while Delhi-NCR delivered all 0.9m sq ft of new retail supply.
What happened
India organised retail market · India’s organised retail leasing rose 20% year on year to 3.9 million sq ft in H1 2026. Fashion led demand, while domestic
Key facts
- Gross leasing rose 20% year on year to approximately 3.9 million sq ft in H1 2026
- Fashion and apparel represented around 40% of leasing
- Food and beverage represented approximately 14%
- Entertainment represented 9%
- Jewellery represented around 7%
- Homeware and furnishings represented around 7%
- Consumer electronics represented 6%
- Around 0.9 million sq ft of new retail space became operational
- Fashion and apparel accounted for nearly 69% of leasing in Chandigarh and Jaipur
- Fashion and apparel accounted for about 65% of leasing in Kochi
- Domestic retailers contributed more than 70% of overall leasing
Why this matters
Fashion’s outsized leasing share in Chandigarh, Jaipur and Kochi highlights potential partnership, acquisition and franchise opportunities among regional brands seeking capital and real-estate capabilities to scale.
What to watch
- H2 2026 retail supply deliveries outside Delhi-NCR, especially in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kochi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
- Prime mall vacancy, achieved rents and tenant incentive trends by micro-market.
- Whether fashion's leasing share remains near 40% or broadens into beauty, F&B, electronics and entertainment.
- Store-opening announcements and capital-raising activity from domestic fashion and value-retail chains.
- Consumer discretionary spending, apparel demand growth and mall footfall conversion rates during the festive season.
- Evidence of lease renewals being repriced materially above expiring rents or rising store closure rates among smaller brands.
- Prioritise Chandigarh, Jaipur and Kochi for fashion-led catchment mapping, as their leasing mix signals rising competition for quality apparel locations.
- Lock multi-store or multi-city lease pipelines before vacancy compresses, using stepped rents, turnover-linked components and pre-agreed expansion options.
- In Delhi-NCR, target new-supply projects for anchor, flagship and experiential formats rather than competing for mature-mall vacancies at peak rents.
- Track domestic value-fashion, ethnic-wear, footwear and beauty chains for adjacent-category co-tenancy opportunities and competitive displacement.
- Stress-test store rollout plans against higher common-area charges, fit-out costs and 12-24 month sales ramp assumptions.