Qatar is expected to see completion of as many as eight shopping malls with an estimated 548,000sqm GLA (gross leasable area) of organised retail space by 2020, according to ValuStrat.
At the end of third quarter (Q3) 2019, the total supply of organised retail space reached 1.89mn sqm, with the newest addition of Al Waddan Mall (26,000sqm GLA) in Mesaieed (Al Wakrah), The Galleria (44,000sqm GLA) and Department Store (15,000sqm GLA) in Msheireb Downtown (Doha), it said in a report.
Al Meera, Monoprix and LuLu Hypermarket announced the launch of anchor stores at The Mall, Galleria Msheireb Downtown and Doha Mall respectively, the report said, taking the saturation ratio of shopping centres in Qatar to 677sq m per 1,000 capita compared to the Gulf Co-operation Council average of 615sq m per 1,000 capita.
ValuStrat said events such as ‘Summer in Qatar’ and Eid al-Adha, as well as outbound resident spending habits, contributed towards increased sales and footfall during the quarter.
Countrywide monthly rents for medium line shops (between 100sq m and 250sqm) ranged from QR200-380per sqm. While, monthly asking rents for shops (26-36sqm) ranged from QR300-350 per sqm in newly released Al Waddan Mall
(Mesaieed), it said.
The median monthly asking rents among street retail units within Doha stood at QR192 per sqm, down by 1.5% quarter-on-quarter. In Lusail, asking rents ranged from QR80-170 per sqm for sizes 110-350sqm.
The median asking rents among street retail units outside Doha stood at QR172 per sqm, down by 4.4% quarterly. Rent-free periods offered ranged up to 15 months (for contract periods of up to four years).
On the performance of warehouses, ValuStrat said the average asking rents for dry/ambient warehouses in Qatar fell 7% year-on-year and remained unchanged on a quarterly basis. The rate of decline has notably slowed since previous quarter, the report added.
“The average asking rent for temperature-controlled warehouses intended for food and chemical storage fell by 3% quarter-on-quarter
and 11% year-on-year,” it said.
