Delhi-based real estate management and advisory firm Better Option Propmart (BOP) has drawn up an ambitious project to set up a chain of 15 real estate boutiques across north India.
The first-of-its kind real estate boutiques, called ‘BOP Studio’, based on the model of a walk-in store for property consultancy and purchase, will have sit-in consultants for detailed and free counselling to every walk-in customer. It will have the ambience of a high-end store and showcase various projects across various north Indian cities from which customers can make a choice.
Amit Mavi, MD, BOP, says, “You could walk-in, avail yourself of our free real estate consultancy and still not buy any property being showcased. Our aim is to bring the ‘consumer durable shopping experience’ to real estate buyers. We expect people to perceive BOP as a real estate advisory service provider rather than a mere property seller.”
The company plans an initial investment of at least Rs.60 lakh per Studio (in the infrastructure alone), while it also plans to open 2,000 sq.ft high street outlets at prime locations in targeted cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Noida and Meerut, among others.
BOP will directly employ 25 people per Studio and is expected to take the staff strength to close to 1,000 professionals.
The company has set an ambitious break-even target for its Studios. “We know our pan-India expansion through the shoppe concept may not yield us profits soon. But then, our BOP Studios are the only way to establish a real estate advisory firm – a category of industry yet to take off in India,” Mavi says.
BOP will have to handle at least 10 projects annually in each city of operation and achieve sales of Rs.150 crore per city per year to make its Studios profitable. These statistics make the financial engagements look tough, particularly for tier II cities, where average realisation from residential projects is still much lower than that in metros.
— IndiaRetailing Bureau
