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Johannesburg - Massive Chinese shopping centres are mushrooming around the country, thanks to South African consumers’ predilection for cheap Chinese goods.
The Chinese retailers have been so successful that owners of struggling shopping centres are queuing to to fill their vacant space with so-called "Chinatowns".
As a result there is concern that the market for such centres is in danger of oversupply.
Listed property company Redefine Properties [JSE: RDF] has established Chinatowns in two shopping centres and a third is envisaged.
In August 2009 the group developed a shopping centre for a consortium of Chinese businesspeople across from the Ottery Hypermarket in Cape Town.
The centre was designed for retailers selling mainly Chinese products, and an agreement for some 7 500m² lettable space was entered into.
Based on the centre's success the consortium has now also taken up about 6 000m² in Redefine’s Sable Square development on the doorstep of Canal Walk. Sable Square, which was originally intended to house exclusive foreign brands, was never really successful. It is now a thriving shopping centre with a Chinatown and a Pick n Pay.
Steve Kruger of the China Trust, in which the Chinese consortium is a partner, says there are plans to open a third Chinese shopping centre in Cape Town, but this is being approached with great care.
He said what makes the centre so successful is that South Africans in general are looking for value for their money. The Chinese retailers can offer this while there is an enormous selection of goods under one roof, with security.
He said the Chinese centres in Cape Town are successful specifically because there is a limited supply. Should an oversupply develop, many shopping centres with Chinese tenants could come under pressure.
In Johannesburg and environs there is a profusion of enormous Chinese shopping centres. In Crown, south of Johannesburg, there are three close to each other, with another in Ellis Park and one in Bruma.
- Sake24
The Chinese retailers have been so successful that owners of struggling shopping centres are queuing to to fill their vacant space with so-called "Chinatowns".
As a result there is concern that the market for such centres is in danger of oversupply.
Listed property company Redefine Properties [JSE: RDF] has established Chinatowns in two shopping centres and a third is envisaged.
In August 2009 the group developed a shopping centre for a consortium of Chinese businesspeople across from the Ottery Hypermarket in Cape Town.
The centre was designed for retailers selling mainly Chinese products, and an agreement for some 7 500m² lettable space was entered into.
Based on the centre's success the consortium has now also taken up about 6 000m² in Redefine’s Sable Square development on the doorstep of Canal Walk. Sable Square, which was originally intended to house exclusive foreign brands, was never really successful. It is now a thriving shopping centre with a Chinatown and a Pick n Pay.
Steve Kruger of the China Trust, in which the Chinese consortium is a partner, says there are plans to open a third Chinese shopping centre in Cape Town, but this is being approached with great care.
He said what makes the centre so successful is that South Africans in general are looking for value for their money. The Chinese retailers can offer this while there is an enormous selection of goods under one roof, with security.
He said the Chinese centres in Cape Town are successful specifically because there is a limited supply. Should an oversupply develop, many shopping centres with Chinese tenants could come under pressure.
In Johannesburg and environs there is a profusion of enormous Chinese shopping centres. In Crown, south of Johannesburg, there are three close to each other, with another in Ellis Park and one in Bruma.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
