Would you like to have an office in Boris Becker Tower or rent Space in a business park named after Formula 1 world champion Micheal Schumacher? Or is another racer, Niki Lauda’s Twin Tower more up your avenue?
What about matching your office address with your residential one by living in an apartment designed by Ivana Trump (the ex-wife of hotelier Donald Trump) or ace golfer Greg Norman?
Don’t be surprised if this how some prime real estate is sold in times to come in the country. A trend that is making waves across the world of late ---especially in the United Arab Emirates---called ‘celebrity projects’ will soon make its presence felt in India as well. Celebrities are no longer just buying real estate, but also lending Their name to it, to give buyers a sense of association with a trademark reputation and lifestyle statements.
Former golf pro-turned-business-man Greg Norman is already betting big on India. Norman’s company, Great White Shark Enterprises, is in talks with reality major Unitech to design golf courses in its various townships as well as build ‘gated communities within gated communities”.
Norman’s company will take 10 percent of a residential project (70 villas / apartments if the project has 700 on offer) and convert it into a signature real estate product. Says Bart Collins, President, Great White Shark Enterprises, which has $200 million in annual revenues, “we have already executed a number of projects in the US,Australia and the Middle East.
The homes will be either called Norman Estates or Norman Residency and will have feature that will even put luxury to shame. There will be audio systems from Bang and Olufsen, interiors from big Italian companies and even a limited edition Range Rover with the home / apartment.” Dubai based Darvesh group has entered into a partnership with lvana Trump to construct premium residential and commercial properties in the Middle East and India. Named Le Diamond, the concept of branded real estate might come to India as early as the end of 2008.” We will launch the concept in Mumbai and New Delhi by the end of year,” said Ahsan Hassan Daresh, Managing Director, Darvesh Group.
Dubai recently also saw the launch of Sports Trilogy project comprising business tower named after sports personalities like Boris Becker, Micheal Schumacher and Niki Lauda.
Says Sanjay chimnani, Joint Managing Director, ACI Real Estate, the developer of the project, “We are planning to enter the Indian market through partnerships / franchises in the next few months. We intend to have a presence in six cities of India including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Banglore, and Hyderabad.”
However, celebrities do not just lend their name to a project. They are also actively involved in its design and marketing, thus differentiating it from the usual celebrity endorsement. Says Chinmani, “The key reason for the success of our project has been the hands-on involvement of these legends in the design and planning of the respective towers. Each of them sits on the board of directors for their respective buildings. This is a clear departure from traditional celebrity product endorsement
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