New shopping mall opening in South Africa next month

The Madombidzha Mall in Limpopo will open next month, joining the growing trend of retail centres opening in rural areas across South Africa.

According to McCormick Property Development, the mall will open in one month and seven days from the date of publication, meaning that it should open on Thursday, September 26th, 2024.

The 9,200 sqm centre is located close to Louis Trichardt (Makado) in the Northern part of Limpopo.

Louis Pretorius, a partner at MDS Architecture, which is designing the single-level shopping centre, previously said that the Mall will serve a large catchment area.

“The prominent walkway and covered entrance are marked by two striking steel column structures in vibrant colours that seem to hold up the overhead roof. Elements of the angular structure – a play on the letter M – are duplicated along the covered walkway of the shopping centre,” said Pretorius.

The Madombidzha Mall is located at the entrance of Madombidzha village, which is on the main taxi and bus route from the town of Makhado.

Facilities near the site include a church, a public clinic, and a preschool. A new traffic circle is being created at the entrance to allow for easy access into the Mall.

McCormick Property Development’s Jason McCormick previously told BusinessTech that there are few formal retail options in the area and that Madombidzha Mall will allow for easy access to essential services.

“The mall will be built in a phased approach with room to expand to the full potential of the market,” said McCormick.

Phase one of the development will have 40 tenants, such as Shoprite and Roots. Several food retailers, including a KFC drive-thru, Shoprite-owned Hungry Lion, and Debonairs Pizza, have also been confirmed as tenants.

Construction images and renderings of the Madombidzha Mall can be found below:

The mall is yet another development retail development for MccMcCormick Property Development, which has an extensive record of building retail centres in townships and rural areas.

Urban areas in South Africa, especially those in Gauteng, are filled with shopping centres, meaning that rural retail is now booming across the country.

In 2022 and 2023, many smaller shopping centres (roughly 10,000 sqm) opened in rural areas, allowing for a formal, centralised shopping experience.

Despite the push into rural retail, many low-income consumers felt the pain of the challenging economic environment, which is characterised by elevated inflation, 15-year high interest rates and the pain of load shedding.

FNB Senior Economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi said that retail sales are up by 0.9% year-to-date compared to the same period last year, with retail sales jumping by 4.1% in June.

“Data suggests that these (year-to-date) gains have all come from the last three months – which coincides with load shedding cessation since March, a substantial petrol price cut in June, as well as the post-election improvement in sentiment,” said Mkhwanazi.

However, he warned that the broader consumer environment will continue to be strained due to high living costs, unemployment, and tight credit conditions.

“The upcoming two-pot pension system is expected to have a limited impact on consumer spending, given concerns about rising debt distress,” warned Mkhwanazi.

“However, there is potential for an improved consumer backdrop in the medium term as inflation eases and interest rates gradually decline.”

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