SA can’t stop building new malls
For its size, SA has more shopping malls than any other country except the US. However, it appears the pandemic has not dampened developers’ plans to add even more retail centres to an already oversupplied market — despite the rise in mall vacancies and the pressure on rentals brought on by last year’s lockdowns
SA’s shopping centre glut has swelled to more than 2,300, with a further 260,000m² of new retail space added to the market in the 12 months to February. That’s equivalent to about twice the size of Waterfall City’s Mall of Africa, the largest shopping centre built from scratch in SA.
At least 10 new centres, ranging from 10,000m² to 45,000m², have opened since mid-2020. Among them are Mall of Thembisa in the Gauteng township northeast of Joburg; Ekhaya Mall near Embalenhle township in Mpumalanga (near Secunda); Rustenburg Mall on the Swartruggens Road near the mining town’s old CBD; and Castle Gate lifestyle centre in Erasmus Park, eastern Pretoria...
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