When 2001 and 2006 census data showed a sharp rise in Chinese and South Asian populations in particular GTA communities, a seed was planted in the minds of developers: ethnic consumers would want megamalls tailored to their community. But a boom in planned development from 2005 to 2010 hasn’t materialized into much, suggesting the ethnic mall bubble of the aughts has essentially burst. Analysts, academics and even some behind these projects suggest that in a rush to cash in on what was seen as a burgeoning market and to mimic the megamalls of Hong Kong and Mumbai, developers failed to understand the shopping patterns of their target consumers and that the market may have already been saturated.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ethnic-mall/article4277988/