Indian construction company Malabar Group has ventured into the shopping mall business, opening its first centre, ‘K Mall’, in Kollam, Kerala.

The modestly sized mall is located on Kollam’s High St and the first and only mall in Kollam, Kerala, serving a population of 2.6 million. The mall will be managed by local specialist shopping centre managers Beyond Squarefeet.

Beyond Squarefeet will be re-orienting, marketing and leasing the property.

The centre will be converted into an ‘Eater-tainment hub’, with emphasis on a 15-kitchen foodcourt, fine dining offer, a family entertainment centre and a three-screen cinema.

On the retail side there is a mix of national and regional brands, including Reliance Trends, Malabar Gold, Reliance footprint, Bata, Lee, Ray Ban, Navigator, Male Republic and Linen by Burgoyne which are already trading. Others tenancies remain under negotiation.

“Keeping in mind local needs and flavours, we have put in place a unique concept, which will change the way the consumers in Kollam will experience a mall,” said Sanjay Prabhu, chief managing officer, Beyond Squarefeet Mall Management.

“We will bring in our international experience of mall operations and management in converting this into a hub of ‘Eater-tainment’.”

M P Ahammed, chairman of Malabar Group, said the company’s objective is to make K mall “a world class shopping destination equipped with modern facilities and to create a unique shopping experience for our customers”.