Why landlords are beginning to push back against dark stores

Kiran Reddy remembers how he felt when the first offer came in. It was late 2021, and a broker had called on behalf of a quick-commerce startup looking for ground-floor space in what the industry had begun calling “non-prime” locations—the unglamorous pockets of Bengaluru that the IT boom had grown around without quite growing into. They included the bylanes in Bellandur and the quieter stretches behind HSR Layout. Plots that had sat idle for years, or had been collecting modest rents from whoever would have them.

The startup, the broker said, needed a space of about 2,000-4,000 square feet in area with good road access. Nothing fancy. In exchange, it was ready to offer rent 25-30% above the market price for the same space. Reddy didn’t hesitate.