Executive Summary
In 2023, two shopping malls are expected to open to the public in Colombia, complementing the current stock of 260 in 61 cities.
From 2000 to 2022, the number of malls grew from 56 to 261, representing a rate of 8.9 built per year.
The slow down in construction is attributed primarily to the rising costs of construction and capital. Retail saturation has been a factor with Bogota, Medellin and Barranquilla each having 23 m² of retail space per 100 inhabitants.
Jardin Plaza is one of the most successful malls in Colombia with some studies showing it to be the third most visited mall in Colombia (2nd in Cali). Its sales often rank number one in Cali, due in large part to the malls impressive mix of tenants occupying its 391 stores.
In 2015, Patrimonio Estrategias Inmobiliarias (“PEI”) acquired 49% of Jardin Plaza. Several years later, PEI invested COP 77,315 million (i.e. $23 million) funding 49% of the significant GLA expansion of 29,697 m² (i.e., 320k ft²).
Colombia Shopping Mall Overview
In 2023, two shopping malls are expected to open to the public in Colombia, complementing the current stock of 260 in 61 cities. This will be the 4th consecutive year where only two new shopping malls were opened. From 2000 to 2022, the number of malls grew from 56 to 261, representing a rate of 8.9 built per year. The slow down in construction is attributed primarily to the rising costs of construction and capital. Retail saturation has been a factor with Bogota, Medellin and Barranquilla each having 23 m² of retail space per 100 inhabitants.
Figure 1: New Retail GLA in Colombia (2018 – 2023)
Introduction to Jardin Plaza
Jardin Plaza is one of the most successful malls in Colombia with some studies showing it to be the third most visited mall in Colombia (2nd in Cali). Its sales often rank number one in Cali, due in large part to the malls impressive mix of tenants occupying its 391 stores. The mall opened to the public on November 30, 2005 with 21,300 m² (i.e., 240k ft²) of gross leasable area (“GLA”) and was anchored by Carrefour (i.e., French supermarket) and Homecenter (i.e., Chilean home improvement).
Figure 2: Aerial Photo of Newly Opened Jardin Plaza
The mall was recently expanded in two phases to add an additional 29,697 m² of trading area over two phases. Some of the finishing works are ongoing as of March 2023.
Figure 3: Aerial Photo of Jardin Plaza in 2022
Investors and Owners
The developer of Jardin Plaza is Central Control, a real estate development firm based in Cali, Colombia. The firms founder is Juan Luis Restrepo, who after 23 years studying and working abroad, returned to Colombia and established himself in Colombia’s real estate community through the construction of the Chipichape Mall. Central Control’s success with Jardin Plaza Cali set the stage for it to deliver Jardin Plaza Cucuta in 2019 through a partnership with Portuguese shopping mall investment firm, Sonae Sierra.
In 2015, Patrimonio Estrategias Inmobiliarias (“PEI”) acquired 49% of Jardin Plaza. Several years later, PEI invested COP 77,315 million (i.e. $23 million) funding 49% of the significant GLA expansion of 29,697 m² (i.e., 320k ft²). PEI is the largest institutional owner of shopping malls and offices in Colombia, and the country’s first investment vehicle publicly traded as a REIT. Its portfolio consist of more than 150 properties, in 31 cities, comprising over 1.14 million m² (i.e., 12.3 million ft²) of GLA. The portfolio is valued at COP 8.5 trillion (i.e., $1.78 billion) and the fund has more than 5,400 investors.
Outside of PEI’s ownership interest, the remaining investors (i.e., 51%) and owners are a combination of shares owned by Central Control, the tenants (i.e., horizontal title scheme) and other outside minority investors.
Tenants
Jardin Plaza’s anchor tenants are described below and they are Homecenter, Jumbo, and Falabella. The last major tenant to open a shop in the mall was H&M, when in 2021 it selected the mall to house its first and still only 2,000 m² (i.e., 21,527 ft²) store in Cali. Zara, American Eagle, Lacoste and other large international brands trade at the mall.
Figure 4: Logos of Jardin Plaza’s Anchor Tenants
Homecenter is part of the Sodimac SA group of companies which are owned by Chilean Falabella. The store’s concept is that of construction, hardware and home improvement, similar to the American chains Home Depot and Lowe’s. The company was founded in Chile in 1952 and has more than 100 stores in seven countries across Latin America (e.g., Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico , Argentina, Peru and Uruguay).
The first Colombian Homecenter was opened in Bogota in 1993. Sodimac entered Colombia through a JV with a Colombian entity called Corona Organization. Sodimac (i.e., Falabella) owns 49% of the Colombian entity, and Corona the remaining 51%. The average store size of Homecenters in Colombia is 9,633 m² (i.e., 103,689 ft²) which nearly mirrors the average store size of a Home Depot at 105,000 ft² (i.e., 9,755 m²).
Falabella is an iconic retailer with 510 stores in seven countries in Latin America. It owns 46 shopping malls through its Mallplaza business, which comprise 2.4 million m² (i.e., 25.8 million ft²) of GLA. The market cap of the company is $5.75 billion making it one of the most valuable retail brands operating in Latin America. In Colombia, it has 26 department stores and 40 home improvement stores (i.e., Homecenter). The average Flabella department store size in Colombia is 7,290 m² (i.e., 78,468 ft²).
Figure 5: Falaballa at a Glance (2021)
Jumbo is owned by Chilean parent Cencosud, which operates more than 1,000 stores and owns 60 shopping malls across Latin America (i.e., Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru). Jumbo is its primary supermarket brand and in Colombia it has 90 Jumbos with an average store size of 4,099 m² (i.e., 44,120 ft²). Jumbo came to be in the mall when, in 2012, Carrefour sold its Colombian assets to Censoud beating out a competing bid from Walmart. At the time of the transaction, Carrefour was the second largest grocery retailer (i.e., 93 grocery stores and gas stations) in the country behind Exito. For those readers not keeping track, yes it’s the case that every anchor in Jardin Plaza is Chilean!
