DLF – Promenade Mall

Recently visited DLF – Promenade Mall and was overwhelmed to see the beautiful flourishing property, with best of the retail mix. Visiting Promenade is to enter a world apart. A unique commingling of eastern and western sensibilities inspires the rare and wonderful design by Architect Mohit Gujral. The design of the entire mall is both commercially and culturally focused.

Located in the heart of South Delhi, it offers an elegant and magnificent shopping experience, as it houses some of the well known international brands, truly a shopping paradise for brand name lovers. In the main atrium is the attraction of Cinnabon, the American chain of coffee shop, best treat, a special and perfect way to enjoy coffee or tea with friends here.

Cosmetics & beauty care at the main entrance, then two arms going side ways having a mix of apparel and footwear, brands like- Meen Bazaar, CK, Kalpana, FCUK,Color Plus, Aldo, M & B, and Woodland. In the main spine we see apparels and sports wear- Mango, Promod, DKNY, Aftershock, Reebok and Adidas. In the rear corridoor we have some more apparels- Mothercare,  Alcott, Surreal, Esprit, W, Giovani, Satya Paul and Biba. Not to miss on Ground Floor is Swarovski,Orra, Monpri and Ethos. Dyal Opticals and Sunglass hut. Da Milano, DKNY and Guess accessories. Zara the international departmental store shall be the latest addition.

Placement and positioning of entire trade mix has been very thoughtfully done. The strategically positioned Le Marche, supermarket next to home furnishing stores- Rosebys, Sia Homes, Three sixty degress on the first floor, ensures footfall to this corner of the mall. More of apparels- Cantabil, Chemistry, Lerros, Jasmine, Jashn, Tommy Hilfiger, UCB, VAn Heusen, Ritu Kumar, Numero Uno, Louis Phillipe etc. Kids Wear, Lingerie, Electronics on First Floor.

DT Cinemas is an ultimate theatre experience; it takes the multiplex viewing to the next level.

Food court is a gastronomic delight, with the wonderful blend of finest cuisines, specially the layout, all counters facing the seating in-between. From food court itself the entry to DT Cinemas is another wonderful way of connecting Multiplex and food court. All well known F & B, brands under one roof such as Haldiram, Mc Donalds, Arabian Nites, Bakers Street, Cafe Brown Sugar, Ooh la la, Tikka Town, Dominos Pizza, Subway etc. The variety of food is not only available in the Food Court but otherwise as well, India's best rated Super Specialty Restaurants such as Veda, Taman Gang, T.G.I. FRIDAY’S, Pizza Marzona, Italia, Tasty Tangles etc. amongst others.

Seeing all this running and operational mall reminds me of good olden days way back in April 2004, when the entire project was on paper, and launched to retailers. Got quite a positive response from all national and international brands. Despite the rentals being enormously higher as compared to other competitors of that time.

On 17th Feb’ 2005 the formal launch of the project was done, along with bhoomi pujan on site. By that time almost 70% project was leased. But that did not ensure the success of the project. As just after the construction had begun the project went into an environmental concern by local residents and was delayed by more than two years. By that time the recession had hit and the retailers were in their own tunes of recession. To make this project a success, up and running the way we see it today, was definitely not an easy task for DLF, they had to enter in many different rental arrangements with tenants and make the mall operational somehow. Great Achievement. A nice lesson which other developers should learn, if you don’t bend you break. You have to adapt and adjust for your own survival.