CARGOCONNECT-AUGUST 2025 - Flipbook - Page 24
COVER STORY : NEW URBAN EQUATION
T
he retail landscape is undergoing a rapid evolution, propelled
by shifting consumer preferences, urbanisation, and digital
innovation. Among the most
transformative forces shaping
this shift is quick commerce
(Q-com), a hyper-fast delivery
model promising order ful昀椀lment within minutes, often less
than 30. As of 2025, the Q-com market in India alone
is estimated to be valued at over US$3 billion and is
projected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 20% over the
next 昀椀ve years. This surge is part of a broader global
trend where instant gratification, driven by mobile
apps and expanding urban middle classes, is rede昀椀ning
shopping behaviours.
Q-com’s growth, however, is challenging the
traditional logistics and real-estate frameworks that
underpin retail distribution. Speed and proximity
have become non-negotiable imperatives, pushing
companies to rethink where and how inventory is stored,
processed, and delivered. Conventional warehouses on
city outskirts, designed for bulk storage and long-haul
transport, struggle to keep pace with the immediacy of
Q-com demands. This has sparked a shift towards more
decentralised, integrated, and multifunctional logistics
infrastructure embedded within or near urban centres.
At the con昀氀uence of retail and logistics lies the rise
of mixed-use industrial parks, combining warehousing,
micro-ful昀椀lment, storefronts, and digital operations.
These parks not only support Q-com’s rapid delivery
models but also help bridge the divide between online
and o昀툀ine retail by enabling forward stocking and
hybrid ful昀椀lment strategies. As e-commerce captures
an increasing share of retail sales—already surpassing
15% in many urban Indian markets—these purposebuilt spaces are becoming critical to meeting urban
consumers’ heightened expectations for speed, reliability,
and convenience.
BLENDING PURPOSE AND PLACE:
THE ROLE OF MIXED-USE PARKS
IN UNITING Q-COM AND RETAIL
As Q-com rede昀椀nes urban consumption, the infrastructure powering it is undergoing a strategic shift. At the
heart of this evolution lies the emergence of mixed-use
logistics and industrial parks—a convergence model
that brings together warehousing, micro-ful昀椀lment,
storefronts, and digital operations under one roof. This
new urban equation is no longer just about speed, but
about purposeful proximity, agility, and integrated
urban presence.
R K Narayan, President of Strategy and Business
Development at Horizon Industrial Parks, emphasises
how these mixed-use industrial complexes are enabling
forward retailing in a way that harmonises with the
urban fabric. “Mixed-use industrial complexes bring
warehousing closer to urban retail hubs and enable
forward retailing – helping efficient management
of store level inventory, maximise the use of display
and experience spaces, while being able to serve the
customer specific requirement of a particular SKU
quickly,” he notes.
The ability to ful昀椀l, consolidate, and micro-warehouse
from a single location allows businesses to reduce
delivery timelines while maintaining precision in
SKU-level responsiveness. Narayan adds that these
parks increasingly integrate value-added functions such
as knitting and sorting—crucial to meeting Q-com’s
compressed ful昀椀lment timelines. With urban real-estate
remaining scarce and expensive, mixed-use parks
o昀昀er a compliant, scalable alternative that aligns with
modern logistics needs.
Daljit Singh, Marketing Director at NDR InvIT
Managers, expands on the operational synergy made
24 | CARGOCONNECT AUGUST 2025
