Retail space continues to develop at steady pace

The retail landscape is continuing to excite potential tenants

Shopping centres and retail lobbies in the central business districts (CBD) of Hanoi have prospered. Most buildings have maintained high rents and more than 90 per cent occupancy rates, with local demand for retail space continuing to grow.

In its quarterly report, property consultancy CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE) said that retail turnover of Hanoi in the first six months of this year had increased 28.2 per cent compared to the same period of last year.

The retail supplies in Hanoi were mainly through three channels comprising department stores, trading centres and retail lobbies, according to a CBRE report.

The report also said trading centres were dominating most spaces with vacancies of only 1.75 per cent, followed by retail lobbies with 11.64 per cent and department stores with 25 per cent.

According to a recent study on local consumers’ shopping habits conducted by Vietnam Trade University, retail centres are now not just for shopping, but for entertaining as well, and offering different kinds of services, from shopping to foods and cinemas.

“People nowadays come to retail centres not only for shopping, they now come from the morning and stay late, going around, having lunch and dinner and letting their children play games and go to the cinema,” said Nguyen Thi Thu, a shopper at The Garden in Pham Hung street, in Tu Liem district’s My Dinh commune.

The property consultancy firm estimated that in the near future, many large retail space would be added to Hanoi’s market to satisfy the growing demand.

In the next five years, it is estimated that Hanoi will have around 665,000sqm of retail space, six-times more than the current figure. However, these future projects would be mostly located in non-CBD areas such as in Tu Liem, Hoang Mai and Cau Giay districts. Among those, Tu Liem district’s My Dinh area , around only eight kilometres from the capital’s downtown, has been becoming one of the most hunted investment destinations by domestic and foreign investors.

As My Dinh has been planned to be developed into Hanoi’s second state administration centre, there are a growing number of newly-built high-rise complex properties in this area, providing all utilities of offices, apartments, shopping centres and recreational facilities.

Among the newly-built retail centres across the country, The Garden has been considered the most successful with its underground basement retail space.

Invested in by Bitexco, one of the leading real estate investors in Vietnam, The Garden has now become a popular destination for Hanoians who like to refresh after a week of hard work.

Bitexco’s vision is to build a self-sustaining community, wherein the Manor, The Garden and the local international school are fused together to create a luxury lifestyle never before experienced in Vietnam.

“With its landscape walkways and parks reminiscent of Paris, it is set to become the ‘little Paris’ of Vietnam,” said Vu Quang Hoi, president of Bitexco.

Regarded as one of the largest shopping centers in Vietnam, The Garden covers 27,000sqm. It is offering a 4,000sqm supermarket, six floors of shopping malls, playing area for children, culinary, a fitness centre, cinemas and an entertainment centre.

In addition, there are a total of three basements and a parking lot covering 1,000sqm to fully meet the parking demands of customers.

It is also home to the most state of the art gym in Vietnam, “Star Fitness Bitexco”, which  offers the finest in exercise, classes for dancing, yoga and aerobics, a swimming pool, steam, sauna, and massage rooms.

The Garden’s advanced facilities are designed and built to satisfy all the needs of customers in terms of shopping as well as cultural and entertainment activities.