Elite homes, by invitation only

In a radical departure from conventional positioning exercises in the real estate sector, the Rs 10,000 crore Ambience group is attempting to reverse conventional marketing models by restricting access to only select buyers — by invitation.

And in doing so it begs the question: is merely being expensive — or even extremely expensive — enough to bag the “luxury” tag? When it comes to real estate at least, it may not. Land values in congested metros can distort pricing to an extent where merely being costly or difficult to acquire does not put a property in the “luxury” bracket.

In its tony integrated township, Ambience Island, coming up in Gurgaon, near Delhi, Ambience is planning to sell 250 premium condos only to buyers who have been invited to invest there.

"It's not just about money. It's all about creating the right surroundings," says Kochhar A., managing director. The group plans to ask a "neutral panel" to select "invite" buyers who will have the requisite comfort levels, not just with the neighbourhood, but the neighbours as well.

Kochhar is not worried about the possibility of upsetting potential customers.

"Luxury is relative. For somebody driving a Maruti 800, a Honda City might be luxury. But then again for somebody else, whose basic car is a Mercedes, the benchmark is different. The key to answering the question is quality and innovation."

Ambience, which is developing the two biggest malls in the National Capital Region area — the 8 lakh sq ft Ambi Mall in New Delhi and the 18 lakh sq ft Ambi Mall in Gurgaon, is also likely to be the first to market with a retail innovation.

Platinum Tower, a separate island within its Gurgaon mall, is planned as the country's first dedicated mall for super-luxury brands, with restricted access.

When asked whether this might affect footfalls, key to any retail business, Kochhar said that the group will drive entry by holding coordinated activities.

"Besides," he says, "we are not looking at today. By 2015, the market might change so much that even this might be too small."

via HT