China to have more than 7,000 malls by 2025

Nation likely to have more than 7,000 malls by 2025, says expert

As China rises, so do many shopping malls in the country.

Last year, 15 million square meters of floor space for at least 1,500 malls were under construction in China.

According to experts, China now has 2,812 shopping malls, a number that is likely to exceed 7,000 by 2025. Of the existing malls in China, 80 percent are considered to be large, meaning they have between 50,000 and 100,000-plus square meters of floor space. Provided to China Daily

"And that's just about enough," said Guo Zengli, president of the China Shopping Center Development Association. "It's enough of the large and trendy malls we see in megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai."

The number of malls being built last year in China far exceeded the figure for Western Europe, where only five were being built in 2011, according to the US-based CBRE Group Inc, a commercial real estate services company.

China now has 2,812 shopping malls, a number that is likely to exceed 7,000 by 2025, Guo said.

According to CBRE data, eight Chinese cities are among the top 10 cities in the world with the largest number of new shopping malls.

Of the existing malls in China, 80 percent are considered to be large, meaning they have between 50,000 and 100,000-plus square meters of floor space.

In the US, only 20 percent of malls fall within those dimensions, Guo said.

Most Chinese malls are aimed at buyers of medium-priced and relatively high-priced goods. They tend to offer the same brands as each other and fail to meet the shopping needs of the general public.

"The kind of shopping centers that most people need are the ones meant for the bottom of the pyramid," he said, meaning those that serve "ordinary people" who "don't want to spend lots of money but lead a decent life".

James Hawkey, executive director of retail services for Cushman & Wakefield China, a subsidiary of a US-based commercial real estate services firm, said few shopping centers in Europe and the US occupy more than 100,000 square meters of space.