Developers, who are looking at a long- term business, are open to this option. Those who want to make a quick buck by building a mall, selling the property and exiting want to stick to the rental system," said Malhotra

There are some retailers who are looking to strike deals where they don't have to pay any fixed charges and simply give 5 to 15 per cent of their revenues to the mall owner.

But this hasn't gone down too well with big developers.

Pradeep Jain, Chairman, Parsvnath Developers Ltd, said the model where builders charge retailers a minimum guarantee and then get a share of their revenues can work out.

"But these days they want us to build the malls, do the interiors, not give any minimum guarantee, not charge anything for common area maintenance and then share the revenues. That won't get us any return with the current high real estate prices," Jain said.

Dharmesh Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Nirmal Lifestyle Ltd, doesn't believe the revenue-sharing model can work in India since that will ensure that it takes longer for developers to get their returns and if the retailer decides to exit early, then the developer will be at a loss.

Yet, the trend is catching on.

For value retailers who have the lowest margins, even a slight breather in term of property cost is a huge welcome.

"Moreover, this option makes business a little more insured against ups and downs of the market," said The Loot's Gupta.

Since the time retail boom kicked off in India, the battle between the retailers and the developers regarding rentals has been raging on.

In a young industry where no one claims to be making money --- retailers are struggling for margins and developers are taking five to eight years to recover their investments --- fixed rentals have never worked out, according to analysts.

Also, it's a function of the economy: rentals rise only when retailers do well.

Nevertheless --- and slowly at that --- realisation is dawning on both facilitators of the retail story that it's time to go flexible.