Godrej Properties plans to double the share of its business from the Gulf region. As of now, 15 per cent (250,000 sq ft) of the company’s sales are accounted for by the Gulf region. International sales contribute about a quarter to Godrej Properties’ overall sales.
Though companies such as Sobha Developers and Hiranandani Developers had developed projects in the Gulf, Godrej merely wanted to tap demand for its projects in India, said Girish Shah, executive vice-president (marketing and sales), Godrej Properties.
On Monday, the company opened its first international representative office in Dubai, the UAE. “The office allows our customers to study our projects and builds relationships with them,” Shah said. The company is planning to open similar representative offices in the US, Singapore and the UK in the next year.
In the quarter ended September, residential absorption in India fell 21 per cent year-on-year. Shah, however, denied the company’s current move was aimed at garnering additional sales from abroad. "It is building capacities, not garnering incremental sales from the Gulf market."
He said Godrej Properties was also considering venturing into the build-to-suit property segment.
"All developers market their properties in the Gulf due to the concentration of non-resident Indians. It is a good way to generate sales," said an analyst with a city-based brokerage firm.