After a strong festive season performance, a developer focused on township and secondary-city malls is demonstrating how these areas are emerging as key players in South Africa’s retail landscape.
New Africa Developments (NAD) finished 2025 with strong trading across its portfolio, reflecting the strength of its value-led retail developments. November sales increased 7.29% year-on-year, followed by 1.72% growth in December, while trading density jumped 42% from November to December as festive spending intensified.
Footfall remained resilient, rising 4.53% year-on-year in November and climbing 20% month-on-month into December. Standout centres included Dwarsloop Mall in Bushbuckridge, which recorded 5% festive growth, and Acornhoek Mall in Mpumalanga, where December sales were up 4.85% compared with the previous year.
NAD specialises in creating cost-effective retail developments tailored to the needs of local communities, with a portfolio of more than 37 prime developments nationwide.
“Across the portfolio, shoppers adopted a more deliberate approach, consolidating purchases into fewer, higher-value visits,” said Corné Claassen, retail portfolio manager at NAD. “This more intentional shopping behaviour supported overall trade growth and highlighted the increasing sophistication and maturity of township and secondary-market retail.”
The group said the festive performance reinforces the central role township and peri-urban retail play in South Africa’s broader retail economy. Additionally, the growth was achieved without adding new major anchor tenants, driven instead by local insight, careful tenant selection and a focus on affordability and relevance.
Strong operational delivery, like prioritising cleanliness, crowd management and festive activations, further reinforced the centres as trusted community destinations during the peak trading period.
“Our model is built on consistency, relevance and resilience,” said Claassen. “This season’s festive performance signals strong fundamentals are in place, both in our shopper markets and our portfolio, as we move into 2026 and beyond.”
Looking ahead, NAD is preparing to launch Jumbo Mall in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, which the group marked as a milestone in its growth strategy. The regional centre will combine scale, accessibility and shopper-focused design.
“Jumbo Mall reflects what we have learned from working with communities over the past decade. We are proud of the progress we have made and excited about what comes next,” says Claassen.
TimesLIVE
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