South Africa’s richest shopping mall hits near-perfect milestone

·26 Nov 2025

Luxury South African shopping mall Sandton City has achieved an occupancy rate of 99.9%, marking a significant milestone for any retail centre in the country.

The mall is widely regarded as the country’s ‘richest’ retail centre thanks to its luxury offerings and location in South Africa’s richest square mile.

Sandton City is the fourth biggest shopping mall in South Africa with approximately 148,000 square metres of lettable space.

It only ranks below the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, uMhlanga, Menlyn Mall in Pretoria and the country’s biggest centre, Fourways Mall.

However, while many retail centres have the space, occupancy has been a major sore point over the past five years, with the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns fundamentally shifting consumer behaviour.

But through the challenges, Sandton City has now achieved near-perfect occupancy, with only 0.1% of space vacant.

According to the mall, the near-perfect milestone was achieved thanks to a “deliberate repositioning journey”, which entailed rightsizing some retailers like Edgars and curating its tenant mix to appeal to target customers.

Over the past two years, Sandton City has concluded 50 new leasing deals and facilitated 46 store upgrades, representing more than 30,000 square metres of lettable space.

The centre’s trading density has grown by 12.1% over the same period, significantly outperforming national benchmarks.

Vacancy rates have improved from 3.6% in January 2025 to just 0.1% in October 2025, reflecting the sustained appetite for quality space among both local and international retailers.

Specifically, by making effective use of space otherwise over-occupied, the mall was able to create new retail nodes and draw in high-performing local and global brands.

“The calibre and diversity of new tenants, particularly in the fashion, athleisure, and lifestyle categories, has contributed to the property’s exceptional performance,” the mall said.

This included store openings for international brands like Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade, and refurbishments for existing stores like Mango and Ferragamo, which are ongoing.

General and asset manager for the Sandton City precinct, Dimitri Kokinos, said the mall’s leasing strategy has been evolving over time, and the group has been proactively responding to shifting customer needs.

“By staying close to our tenants, responding quickly to opportunities, and maintaining operational excellence, we continue to deliver a retail environment that is positioned for sustainable growth,” he said.

Continued development

The group said that the mall’s recent evolution reflects a broader vision that goes beyond leasing metrics.

It noted that it was investing in future-focused initiatives to boost both environmental aspects and customer experience and engagement.

This includes the commissioning of rooftop solar and adopting new energy wheeling services. The goal is to achieve “net-zero” by 2030.

Sandton City was one of the first buildings to go up when Sandton was established as a new municipality in 1969.

Construction on Sandton City began in 1970. The final location was chosen mainly because of its access to the newly built highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

When Sandton City opened on 12 September 1973, many predicted that it would fail. The Johannesburg CBD was still the dominant commercial centre, and Sandton remained semi-rural.

However, the centre has become one of the biggest, richest and most iconic retail centres in South Africa.

It has also seen significant additions and continued development over the years.

In 2011, the mall embarked on a monumental R1.77 billion expansion and introduced additional retail space, known as The Protea Court, that took the centre to 146,803 square metres of retail, leisure, and dining space.

Following the Protea expansion, Sandton City’s owners continued to invest in the centre.

From 2015, hundreds of millions were spent on the redevelopment of The Diamond Walk, The Fun District, The Food District and The Checkers Court.

It also saw continuous investments into the centre’s facilities and office components, The Atrium on 5th and The Sandton City Office Tower.

Earlier this year, the City of Johannesburg valued the mall at around R10 billion. However, this has been set for review, with the property’s owners putting the true figure at around R8 billion.