Study of the Impact of Tenant Mix on Retail Property Performance in Nigerian Shopping Centres

This study examines how tenant mix composition influences the commercial performance of retail shopping centres in Nigeria, using selected malls in Lagos and Abuja as primary case references. Effective tenant mix management is a core strategy in retail property management, with anchor tenants, complementary retail categories, and food and beverage offerings each playing distinct roles in driving footfall and sustaining lease values. The study employs a multiple case study design, analysing tenant mix data, occupancy rates, rental levels, and footfall statistics for five shopping centres over a three-year period. Data were obtained from mall management companies, supplemented by structured interviews with 15 mall operators and 40 retail tenants. The relationship between anchor tenant presence, non-anchor tenant diversity, and overall mall performance is assessed through comparative analysis. Findings confirm that shopping centres with a diversified tenant mix anchored by a nationally recognised supermarket or department store consistently outperform single-anchor or narrowly categorised malls in both occupancy rates and rental growth. Food courts are identified as among the strongest footfall generators in Nigerian mall environments, outperforming equivalents in more mature markets, attributable to dining culture and social gathering preferences. Vacancy concentrates at malls relying heavily on apparel without anchor grocery or entertainment tenants. The study recommends that retail property managers in Nigeria prioritise entertainment, food and beverage, and experiential retail in tenant recruitment strategies to differentiate from e-commerce competition. Keywords: tenant mix, shopping centre, retail property, mall management, Nigeria.