Township, community malls continue to outperform, says Vukile

Vukile Property Fund reported increased footfall at its shopping malls in the two months to end-December, with Black Friday attracting more shoppers despite load-shedding challenges.

In November, overall shopper numbers rose 10%, with footfall up 13% in its rural portfolio, 9% in township centres, 10% in commuter centres and 11% in urban shopping centres.

“The SA portfolio continues to show improvement in all key operating metrics, with township and community malls continuing to outperform,” the company said in a trading statement on Wednesday.

Vukile is a JSE-listed specialist retail real estate investment trust (Reit), with a defensive portfolio of assets in SA (44%) and Spain (56%). Spanish assets are held through a 89.6% stake in Madrid-listed Castellana Properties Socimi.

Compared with 2021, Black Friday attracted 18% more shoppers to Vukile’s malls and, overall, footfall was 15% higher over the Black Friday weekend. For December trade, shopper numbers increased by 11% and 13% at township and community malls, respectively.

COMPARED WITH 2021, BLACK FRIDAY ATTRACTED 18% MORE SHOPPERS TO VUKILE’S MALLS

Annualised trading density increased 6.7% in November 2022 and 6% in December. Trading density refers to sales achieved per rentable square metre in a particular store or shopping centre.

The township and commuter malls grew by 9.7% and 8.9%, respectively, while the combined rural and township portfolio grew by 7.3%.

In December, the malls with the highest trading densities were KwaMashu Shopping Centre (20.2%), Phoenix Plaza (16.5%), Atlantis City Mall (14.9%), Durban Workshop (14.5%) and Gugulethu Square (12.2%).

Among the different retail categories, movies and travel recorded their highest growth levels since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Spain, the Castellana portfolio recorded higher shopper and retail sales during Black Friday, with the Bahia Sur shopping centre posting a 20% increase in shopper numbers compared with 2021.

Strong trading extended into the festive month and saw sales increase 15.5% compared with December 2021, and 15.6% compared with December 2019 before the pandemic.

Despite inflation-driven price increases, shoppers continued to buy more than in previous years, Vukile said.