A 106% jump in retail leasing, rising incomes, and homegrown brand prevalence in the city contribute to reshaping the country’s retail landscape.
For years, Delhi and Mumbai have dominated conversations about India’s retail growth. Homegrown brands typically opened their first outposts in one or both of these cities, and international labels consistently chose them for launches and high-profile activations. Neighborhoods like Bandra, Kala Ghoda, Dhan Mill, and Khan Market are the go-tos, marked by saturation and soaring rents. However, the latest numbers show that a new player has emerged as a powerhouse within the country: Hyderabad. According to Cushman & Wakefield, Hyderabad led the country in retail leasing in Q1 2025, capturing 34 percent of total activity with 106% year-over-year growth. It led again in Q2, posting 0.76 million square feet of leasing, ahead of Mumbai's 0.52 million and Delhi's 0.3 million. A wave of openings by labels like Anamika Khanna, Lovebirds, and VegNonVeg has transformed Hyderabad from its tech-centric moniker “Cyberabad” to a fashion and design hub where contemporary brands are racing to find footing.
One of the clearest indicators of why retail is booming in the southern city is income. A recent study by Home Credit India found that the city has the highest personal monthly income in the country at ₹44,000, well beyond the metro average of ₹35,000 and outpacing major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad. This spending power is closely tied to Hyderabad’s evolution into a major global technology hub. An estimated one million people in the city work at Hyderabad offices of global technology companies like Microsoft and Google. Beyond tech, international beauty brands are also entering the mix and bringing in talent, with L’Oréal planning to open one of its largest ever Global Capability Centres in the city and bring in senior employees from other locations around the world. This concentration of disposable income and global exposure has created a consumer base that is both brand-aware and underserved by traditional luxury retail.
Multi-brand retailer Ensemble's Banjara Hills outpost
So, where does one go to shop in the city? A decade ago, luxury outposts were limited, with a few designer stores that usually only stocked older collections. Today, the luxury retail landscape tells a different story, and that story is centered squarely in two neighborhoods: Banjara & Jubilee Hills. A wave of new openings underscores how aggressively fashion brands are moving into the area to secure visibility with a rising class of high-spending consumers. Within the past few years, labels such as Anamika Khanna, Lovebirds, VegNonVeg, Rimzim Dadu, and Mishru have opened locations, with other notable names rumored to follow. Concept stores like The Shop and Theory of Everything have also established themselves in the area, carrying a broader curation of contemporary brands like Quarter, JODI, and Moonray.
And beyond hype, sales data makes a compelling argument for presence in the metro. In an interview with Apparel Resources, Lavish Soni, CBO of House of Rare, describes Hyderabad as their highest-earning city per square foot, fueling their expansion from one store in 2017 to twelve today. Other brand owners also echo a similar sentiment, citing the city’s startup ecosystem, skilled workforce, lower cost of operations, diverse consumers, and supportive policies as key reasons for outperforming expectations. Interestingly, homegrown labels account for 98 percent of all leasing activity, which could be correlated to a combination of deep local affinity and measured hesitation from foreign brands that have yet to fully engage with the city and its consumers.
India’s retail landscape has long been dominated by New Delhi and Mumbai, but the addition of Hyderabad as a major player provokes reconsideration over where brands should allocate their brick & mortar efforts. Does it make sense to double down in “proven” metros, establishing footing in the various shopping neighborhoods of one or two cities? Or, is breadth the right call to capture a young, globally-minded Indian consumer that may be underserved in the city they live in? The Hyderabad case suggests that India’s next phase of retail growth may be less about crowding into legacy metros, and more about recognizing where spending power, culture, and opportunity are aligning in real time.
