| Spotlight
A True Pioneer
West Pioneer Properties (India) Pvt Ltd is leading the way
in developing malls for the masses residing in Tier II &
Tier III towns in West and South India.
Real estate development is a booming business, no doubt.
But as the industry puts its best foot forward, specialisation
is emerging as its new buzzword. ‘Why dabble in everything
when you can specialise in a niche sector?’ is a perception
that is slowly gaining ground among real estate developers
who believe in the old adage, don’t be a jack of all
trades, but a master of one!
Jayant Sohonie, Chief Executive Officer and Director, West
Pioneer Properties (India) Pvt Ltd, ascribes to this viewpoint.
He teamed up with a group of like-minded people to launch
West Pioneer’s operations in India, with the aim to
develop and operate high-quality consumer and retail-centric
shopping malls, hotels or mixed mall/hotel comp-lexes primarily
in Tier II and III towns in West and South India.
Core strategy
West Pioneers’ strategy is well thought out. “Cities
are extending to suburbs and exurbs and people are moving
away from traditional city centres,” he says. “Both
residential population and offices are moving to the suburbs.
But by and large, these areas currently have limited options
in terms of shopping, entertainment and hospitality. So we
took a business decision to consciously look at Tier II and
III towns and suburbs to build malls and manage the same.”
Sohonie explains certain other factors that motivated the
group to take this decision. “The retail and hospitality
market opportunity in West and Southern India is derived from
a combination of a virtually untapped organised retail and
hospitality environment, a rapid growth of the middle class
in Tier II and Tier III cities and towns, greater transparency
in the property market, the availability of reasonably inex-pensive
land, and improved infrastructure development which provides
access to markets,” he says.
Growing its income
Insofar as its shareholders are concerned, West Pioneers’
strategy is to grow its returns by adopting the build, own
and manage mall/hotel devel-opment methodology that would
yield regular income from rents/leases, build the brand as
a recognised mall operator, and ensure an increase in the
value of underlying assets over time. Of course, the last
aim brings to the fore the major challenge the group faces.
“As our strategy is partially dependent on the early
acquisition of land in earmarked suburbs and towns, no thanks
to the ever increasing inflation figures, real estate prices
may emerge as a major downer in the coming years,” comments
Sohonie. However, as real-estate invest-ments for West Pioneer’s
early projects were made some time ago, the price increase
has not affected the company so far.
At the same time, the prices of two major components of construction
— cement and steel — have risen several times
over in the past 18 months. Isn’t this a major challenge
the company will face? “The increase in steel and cement
is an industrial problem and we will definitely be affected
by it,” responds Sohonie. “But when you have quality
as your priority, it is not possible to cut corners.”
Harnessing technology and expertise
Nonetheless, Sohonie believes that West Pioneer’s emphasis
on combining local and global best practices, developing win-win
partnerships with its tenants and creating an exciting and
memorable experience for the customers are factors key to
its success in the coming years. “Our approach is our
major USP, not only because we are targeting suburbs and Tier
II towns where markets are currently run by traditional businesses
that position customer convenience and value at opposite ends,”
he emphasises. “We intend to close that gap by bringing
in value for customer spends and convenience, thus creating
a ‘unique customer experience’.”
The customer is king: that’s the group’s motto.
And in order to create shopping centres to live up to this,
West Pioneer has put together a team that boasts of years
of experience not only in construction per se, but in large-format
retail development and management, and consumer service sectors.
This in-house team is complemented by an established network
of experienced external con-sultants. This combined expertise
has enabled West Pioneer to harness tech-nology advancements
in all the sectors it is involved in to fulfil its service
objective: give the customer maximum comfort at every touch-point
including commu-nication during ground-level interactions.
“Customer-centric retail commences from the structure
of a mall,” elaborates Sohonie. “And if it is
well-rooted in a company’s philosophy, it trickles down
to the behaviour of ground-level staff. For instance, both
the structure and staff must adhere to a non-intimidating
and customer-friendly style.”
Innovation on the floor
Metro Junction is West Pioneers’ first shopping mall,
situated in Kalyan, 30 miles northeast of Mumbai. Kalyan was
pin-pointed as a high catchment area as it caters to a high
population density residential area spanning Kalyan, Ulhas
Nagar and Dombivali. The mall has been located so as to have
high visibility from one of the main traffic arteries of Mumbai
and be easily accessible by car and public transport from
all areas of the capital. Still, in order to increase accessibility,
bus facilities for customers are specially being arranged
from Kalyan station to the mall.
Speaking of its customer service-oriented model, Sohonie
points out that Metro Junction has been built to exude the
feeling of being a shopper’s own space. Unique features
include open air plazas, water bodies and harmonious landscapes.
Besides, bearing in mind shoppers’ convenience, the
750,000 sq ft mall spread over a lower ground, ground and
first floor, will allow customers to take their shopping carts
to all levels. Usually, malls require shoppers to check out
goods at one level (or within a store) and then proceed to
another level. From a customer perspective, this makes shopping
very cumbersome as shopping bags must be lugged around. West
Pioneer has introduced the concept of a one-level exit in
order to tide over this consumer difficulty.
Current and upcoming projects
West Pioneer plans to build at least 10 malls of Metro Junction’s
stature and almost similar size over the next five to seven
years. West Pioneer’s project in Aurangabad, which is
intended to be a mixed-use shopping mall and hotel, is progressing
well. Its concept and design plan have been finalised and
the necessary permissions have been obtained. The group is
currently negotiating with retailers keen to lease space within
the site as it embarks on its development.
In Nasik, West Pioneer has acquired a 17-acre site in a prime
location for the development of a shopping mall or a mixed-use
shopping mall and hotel complex. So far, West Pioneer has
invested Rs 300 crore in its three projects in Western India.
Success mantra
Sohonie believes his success at work stems from his inclusive
hands-on approach. “I make it a point to meet all my
team players at least once a week,” he says. “During
these interactions, I spend a lot of time listening to their
feedback on business processes. This has helped me understand
work beyond the scope of what it seems. I have also been able
to tweak our systems to our advantage.”
Summing up, Sohonie points out that the group’s commitment
to its core values – to respect staff, partners and
clients; act with integrity; practice conti-nuous learning;
and deliver on time and within budgets – will stand
it in good stead as it forges ahead in its mission to provide
a world-class shopping, dining, entertainment and leisure
experience to its customers.
Matching Tenants with Objectives
Metro Junction’s first major anchor tenant Big Bazaar,
a member of the Pantaloon Group, occupies 61,000 sq ft of
gross leasable area in its lower ground floor. This tie-up
serves the objectives of both partners. For West Pioneer,
Big Bazaar’s reputation for delivering affordable and
quality products and a similar shopping experience perfectly
suits the value-conscious clients Metro Junction seeks to
serve. And Metro Junction’s unique location at an emerging
destination as Kalyan would enable Big Bazaar to build on
its brand by reaching out to so many more clients who look
upon it as a brand delivering value-for-money.
“When you have quality as your priority, it is not
possible to cut corners.”
- Jayant Sohonie,
Chief Executive Officer and Director,
West Pioneer Properties (India)
Pvt Ltd
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