Mr. Girija Prasad Swain

REBI has pioneered the movement to organize the real estate transaction advisory market in India, since its inception in 2006. We were the first national level professional organization in the brokerage business in real estate and now have a nationwide presence covering the east, west, south and central with some pockets of the north (more than 100 franchisees). Also there has been a huge amount of co-operation from the Developers community as they experienced the Professional Real Estate Service for the first time; hence as a result we have been able to create a basket of 3000cr worth of exclusively marketed products across the nation.

From being the only player, today the market too has attracted multiple players with regional focus, market focus and nationwide presence. So in a sense we have competitors adapting the model and presenting multiple options to customers. However since the real estate market is so humongous, we welcome competition as it helps expanding the concept of organized real estate services. It has been a challenging journey no doubt, but has been exciting and equally rewarding.

Q. How innovative is the concept in India? When did the company start franchising for its expansion?

The REBI Model of real estate transaction services is not unique to the world, but is unique to the Indian context as we were the pioneers to start organized real estate transaction services through our ‘retail real estate = coffee shop’ (our stores are called property shops, which have an ambiance like a cafe) delivery model that gives customers a unique experience when it comes to transacting real estate. REBI also has one of the most unique franchise operations in the world. We started with franchising as a part of our DNA and have stuck to our vision of creating entrepreneurs in real estate in large numbers. We treat our franchising partners as our fellow journeymen and have a revenue share agreement with them which is fruitful for both partners only when both do well.

Q. How many franchise locations do you have at present in India and how many are expected in coming years?

Currently we have 5 Regional Offices and more than 100 franchised outlets establishing our footholds in 42 cities over 18 states across the country. We would have a reach of approximately 500 outlets in the next two years. We have also started looking forward to expand internationally into South-East Asian countries, Europe, US and UK market.

Q. What kind of products and/or services does the company offer through its franchised centres?

The company offers a complete bouquet of Real Estate Solution to Individuals as well as Corporate. The Services can be categorized into three broad segments: Transactional Services (Sell /Purchase/Aggregation, Auctioning etc.), Advisory Services (Consultancy/ Reports/Feasibility/etc.), and Financial (Project Financing/LAP /Loans). To continue with all these services are offered to institutions, builder or developers and individuals.

Q. What are the eligibility criteria for the selection of the franchisees in India?

Our Franchisees come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from professionals like doctors and lawyers and chartered accountants to real estate brokers, broadly encouraging Micro Entrepreneurship. We seek to appoint visionary, hardworking entrepreneurs who want to achieve their dreams by making a difference to the real estate industry and to the vast majority of real estate consumers. We seek out individuals who have a professional work ethic and are willing to take on the challenges of organizing an unorganized market.

Q. What amount of initial investment is required in terms of space and money from the franchisees end to partner with you?

We have a wide range of franchising options to encourage entrepreneurs at all levels starting with 2-3 lakhs to a few crores. We require our franchise partners to invest in the business in terms of a retail space upwards of 300 sqft to 2500 sqft along with infrastructure as required to run the retail outlet in terms of uniform visual merchandising and office infrastructure.

Q. What kind of support and training is provided by REBI to its franchisees?

The Bench mark of REBI is it give the complete exclusivity for that territory to the channel partners hence bringing transparency in the transaction space. REBI provides a host of support to its franchisees apart from sharing the business model and processes to run their businesses, REBI provides extensive training support at regular intervals. We also provide databases / leads for both properties and buyers as well as lead management solutions that help our business partners conduct transactions with quick turnarounds. REBI also gets into exclusive agreements with property developers to provide inventory for sale and participates in
expos and exhibitions to bring in customers. We also have Times of India and Dhainik Bhaskar groups as Media partners with whom we work extensively to create necessary awareness and leads. REBI also conducts events and exhibitions across India.

Q. What according to you is the outlook for the Real Estate Industry in India and how can franchise model be aligned suitably with it to help it grow further?

The real estate space in India will only get bigger and better and we are at the cusp of a transition into a high growth era for real estate along with development of the appropriate ecosystem that will support the growth in terms of regulation, institution development and global best practices. The Industry currently is @ $12.5bn growing at 20 to 25% levels every year and is expected to be a trillion dollar industry in a decade’s time. Franchising is the way to go in real estate transaction services as it gets the entrepreneur close to the customer and given that real estate is a unique product for every customer, solutions offered to customers demand extreme customization and hence a highly decentralized operation is required to support the business. Decentralization is possible only by having decision making devolved at the value creation interfaces with the customers and developers and hence REBI chose not to devolve powers to these centers but have got entrepreneurs at every level of interface, who work to build unique win-win solutions on a daily basis. We are confident of our franchising only model and expect to create an army of real estate entrepreneurs in the country.