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As we sat in House of Hiranandani’s (HOH) office in Powai, snacking on HOH-branded cookies and drinking coffee from HOH x Nicobar (a lifestyle brand) coffee mugs, we were given a glimpse of the personalised marketing efforts the developers undertake during an open house.
In the 1970s, HOH began its journey in Mumbai’s real estate landscape, with a collection of standalone structures. Fast forward to today, and the "Hiranandani" name is synonymous with beige, neoclassical townships that resemble European enclaves within the metropolis.
The association is by design, says Prashin Jhobalia, CMO of House of Hiranandani.
Evolution of the Hiranandani townships
According to Jhobalia, after developing single buildings across Mumbai, “the vision quickly shifted as the promoters identified a gap in the market for cohesive living”.
"Over a period of time, the promoters realised the need for a township and aimed to create something more unified, which offers all amenities to people, better than what single buildings offer," Jhobalia explains.
House of Hiranandani township is a self-sustained "city within a city" defined by its ‘live-work-play’ philosophy. Key features include green spaces, walkways, club houses, markets, restaurants, schools, and even hospitals. It operates in Mumbai, Thane, Panvel, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
"The design inspiration is more neoclassical when it comes to the architecture. And it's basically been inspired by the Roman style of architecture, which really became the design language for this particular part of town," he notes.
An enormous parcel of land in Mumbai’s Powai has been colloquially dubbed “Hiranandani” for looking like a slice of Europe in an otherwise unplanned city.
Introducing premium living and new urbanism
Quality comes at a price, and House of Hiranandani claims to have never shied away from its premium positioning. Jhobalia points out the appreciation of its real estate value over the decades: "When we started developing, it started at around Rs 450-500/square foot. Now it is somewhere close to about Rs 40,000/square foot."
This price point attracts what Jhobalia describes as an "evolved audience" looking for more than just four walls. "The philosophy of the brand is to create new urbanism and mixed-use development," he says.
Defining the concept, he adds: "Now, what is new urbanism at the end of the day? It's primarily an idea where everyone lives cohesively, walks to work and enjoys the social avenue."
Painting a picture alien to most other parts of Mumbai, Jhobalia adds, “They would want to get down and walk in their area where they are living, where footpaths are really wide. You take your children and pets along.”
The entire ecosystem, he notes, “has been built to cater to different types of people."
This ecosystem is diverse, ranging from "a studio apartment, which is around 450 square feet, to a 5,000-square-foot house", catering to everyone from those "living on rentals to a person who is living in a joint family or even HNIs."
Engineering of longevity
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According to the brand, its hallmark is the personal involvement of the promoters and an obsession with technical detailing.
Jhobalia shares that even today, "Mr Hiranandani gets into the design detailing of how the toilet should be planned, how big or small it should be," and even "how an AC vent should be passing and how we should be using new technologies with respect to fresh air".
Jhobalia also elaborates on the back-end infrastructure that sets them apart from other developers.
"We have a hundred people dedicated to the horticulture department, which no other developer in the country today has. We have our own four-acre nursery, where the plants for our estates are grown."
So far as quality control is concerned, all the sites of the developer have a separate quality lab.
"So any material that comes to the site is randomly picked and tested by the site engineer, who doesn't report to the site head there but who reports directly to the HO (Head Office)."
This results in a unique phenomenon that Jhobalia calls the “good problem”. He asks us to "walk around the township and see if you can identify between an old building and a new building.”
"You will not be able to understand the difference. And it's in a way a problem for us because then the customer is not able to understand why I pay these new rates for the new buildings, but it's a good problem to have, right?"
Post-COVID challenges and trends
The pandemic has fundamentally altered what buyers want. Jhobalia observes that "the entire idea that ‘I'm a global citizen; I can rent everywhere, is getting marginalised now.
People want their own house." He adds that "people are preferring bigger apartments" and that the trend of moving into serviced apartments or Airbnbs is "100% broken down with COVID." Pickleball and paddle courts are also making their way into Hiranandani estates now.
Jhobalia also notes a significant shift in the perception of real estate, observing that while it was historically viewed strictly as an investment tool yielding 8%–12% returns, the industry is now seeing returns closer to 3%.
He emphasises that property should now be viewed as a "living asset or a usable asset" rather than just a financial play. Despite this change in yield, he maintains that real estate remains "one of the safest investment assets that one can really have."
The challenge of South Mumbai
With no "greenfield land" left in South Mumbai, growth must be vertical and through redevelopment, unlike Delhi or Pune, according to Jhobalia.
"It's a very big challenge”, to then develop a township, as simply redeveloping a building may require you to convince about 200 flat owners to move out for a couple of years while the builder pays their rent. However, to develop an entire township, you need to “get, like, 50,000 people onboard, and they practically become your partners”.
Owing to this redevelopment challenge, the brand is bringing its philosophy to smaller parcels in South Mumbai.
"We are looking at a 9-acre parcel in Chembur, which by itself is massive, and it's a redevelopment project. So it will basically package all amenities and green space to create a mini version or a smaller package of what we have created in Thane and in Powai."
Referrals, influencers and AI
Since “margins are limited” in the real estate industry, HOH expects a respectable ROI from all its marketing initiatives. “ROI matters because we all operate in constrained marketing budgets, considering the lower margins that we have,” says Jhobalia.
HOH boasts a referral rate that is "very rare" in the industry. "We have close to around 30% of our sales that happen through repeat buyers... I don't see any other brand in the country, barring probably, say, DLF or someone who has that kind of a referral and loyalty rate."
“We have an equal proportion of referrals, channel partner and direct sales.”
It’s not just the cookies and coffee mugs that are selling homes for Hiranandani. The developer has tried to make the customer journey seamless with the help of AI, employing WhatsApp bots to chat anytime, answering all kinds of questions about the properties.
In addition to the site models, “we also have virtual sales experiences, which help you understand the property better and show you exactly the views that you will get from the towers."
HOH looks for "like-minded influencers" where the "psychographic and demographic of audience" coincides with theirs. "Influencers have become the new age trend. It's become the new big bang hoardings."
Events like "Christmas evening at the block" or the "Diwali lighting festival" are designed so people can "experience life in the estate" beyond just a brief visit.
HOH places great emphasis on its new website, which features short videos selling not its properties but the good life that it offers, whether it's yoga by the pool or coffee on your balcony.
Jhobalia attributes HOH's success to a stable team and a clear vision. "The average tenure of a mid to senior management is about 15 years within the company," he notes, which is vital for a product like a house where a customer lives "forever".
In essence, the customer interacts with the same person who sold them the house for more than a decade if the need arises.
The 'pure-play' advantage
According to Jhobalia, what sets the House of Hiranandani apart from the other developers is that real estate is their primary business, unlike other business houses that make a name for themselves in another business and then enter the real estate market. “For us, our core is real estate, and everything we do is to improve that product.”
Conglomerates such as Godrej (Godrej Zenith, Godrej Trilogy), Tata (Tata Eureka Park, Tata Myst), Aditya Birla (Birla Niyaara, Birla Tisya), L&T (L&T Rejuve 360, L&T Elixir Reserve), Raymond (The Address by GS, Ten X Habitat), Mahindra (Mahindra Blossom, Mahindra Zen), and Adani (Adani Ten BKC, 9PBR) have also invested in the real estate business.
