Track2Realty Brand Ranking 2019-20
In the 8th edition of Track2Realty BrandXReport 2019-20, the corporate conglomerate, Godrej Properties that has always been yet near & yet so far with the national brand leadership has finally emerged as the national brand leader of the Indian real estate. The brand looks even more promising as many of the leading names have taken a severe beating this fiscal year that ended with global pandemic of Coronavirus.
Godrej Properties is the first corporate conglomerate in the history of Indian real estate to have ever emerged as the National Brand Leader with Track2Realty ratings. Looking forward, this is one brand that looks most resilient and in far better shape than the peer brands in the post Coronavirus market.
It is not just the fiscal performance or the stock market resilience that have elevated Godrej Properties to the coveted brand leadership across India. The performance has been remarkable and ever improving on various scale leading to better consumer experience and consumer connect. In a gloomy market of uncertainty, Godrej Properties looks most promising to meet the delivery commitments as well. Last, but not the least, while most of the corporate entities found it altogether challenging turf in the business of real estate, Godrej appears to be a natural real estate brand beyond its market presence in other businesses.
Sobha Limited lost its brand leadership after five consecutive years. The brand nevertheless is still miles ahead of many other real estate companies, not only on its home turf South India but overall in terms of residential developments and luxury housing. It would be interesting to see whether the slide has been temporary & the brand would bounce back as the national leader or the challenges ahead would take the sheen out of once referred as the benchmark of Indian housing quality.
It has nevertheless been quite a challenging fiscal year for most of the brands weathering the slowdown, that got aggravated with the Coronavirus by the end of the fiscal year. One brand that has surprised many with its slow & steady march to the national brand leadership is Ashiana Housing. Ashiana enters into National Brand Leadership for the first time this year. After 2012-13, this is the first time that more than one North Indian brands are into the Top 10 list of Brand Leadership.
Overall the National Brand Leadership is yet again headed by Bengaluru with 5 developers finding place into Top 10. DLF Limited improves its brand positioning significantly this time around. Piramal Realty goes out of the Top 10 list of National Brand Leadership. Bengaluru-based Brigade Group loses its ranking significantly this year.
EAST INDIA
Not much movement in East India on brand index; the effect of overall slowdown has been quite visible in the region. Kolkata witness to two extreme ends of price point, from luxury to affordable, with over supply in both the segments. None of the segments seem to attract the buyers; there is clear demand & supply mismatch in this region.
Brand Trust is increasingly becoming an issue in the region with many projects stuck up for reasons ranging from fiscal to execution challenges. Ambuja Neotia continue to command the Brand Leadership in the region. Siddha Group is the most bullish brand to scale up the Brand Leadership chart and become Number 4 brand now. Siddha Group had for the first time made a significant entry last year at Number 5.
Once a promising brand, Srijan Realty, has been witness to downwards movement in Brand Leadership. None of the corporate groups in the real estate business could establish themselves as a trustworthy brand in the region. East Zone is the only region where the National Brand Leader Godrej Properties is not in the list of Top 10 brands.
WEST INDIA
Godrej Properties is the Brand Leader in the West Zone and is by far ahead of the competition curve in the region. The brand performer of the region is nevertheless Sunteck Realty that has jumped from Number 5 to now at second best brand in the region. The consumer confidence index of Sunteck Realty has pushed down K Raheja Corp one spot downwards on the Band Leadership chart.
Kalpataru Real Estate is another significant performer this fiscal year and has scaled up three spots to be Number 5 brand now. Kanakia Spaces is the only new entry into the elite list of Brand Leaders of West Zone this fiscal year. Kanakia is back into the reckoning after a gap of two years.
Hiranandani Group scales up one spot to be Number 6 brand now. Adani Realty scales down at Number 7 this fiscal year. Mahindra Lifespaces goes out of the leadership chart in the region.
Piramal Realty has also taken a hit in Brand Trustworthiness this time around and drops from Number 4 to now at Number 8 . L&T Realty that entered into the Brand Leadership last year has retained its positioning yet again.
NORTH INDIA
North India has been the most happening zone where some of the established brands are losing competitive edge and new players are scaling up pretty fast. Some of the large players by market size/fiscal topline fail to find a place in Brand Leadership due to poor consumer confidence.
DLF continues to command the Brand Leadership of North India and, as a matter of fact, is improving its standing in the region. The Brand Performer of the region is ABA Corp this fiscal year that has jumped from Number 7 to now at Number 4 in North India. It’s performance in the core geography, Noida-Greater Noida has been quite remarkable. The brand also has higher consumer confidence than the peer group in the region.
Godrej Properties is 2nd best brand yet again this time around. Ashiana Housing that had jumped as the 3rd Best Brand in the region last year has yet again maintained its standing. M3M is back among the Brand Leaders in the region. ATS continues to lose its brand cutting edge significantly and from being No. 1 in 2016-17 the brand now stands at No. 6.
Mahagun India and Gulshan Homz are also losing their brand cutting edge in North India . Eldeco and Adani exit the Brand Leadership chart in the region.
SOUTH INDIA
Sobha Limited retains its brand leadership for the 6th consecutive year this time. Despite losing its National Brand Leadership, Sobha continues to dominate the public perception in South India. Prestige Group is back to its 2nd spot of Brand Leadership in the region. Embassy Group scales down one spot to be at Number 3 this time around.
Akshaya Homes enters into the Brand Leadership of South India after a gap of 6 years. Akshaya Homes is the only Chennai-based brand to get into Brand Leadership of South India. Century Real Estate exits the leadership chart in the region this time around.
Total Environment strengthens its Brand Leadership this fiscal year in South India. Salarpuria Sattva loses its brand competitiveness quite significantly this time around . Brigade, Godrej, RMZ and Puravankara sustain their respective last fiscal year brand ranking.
RESIDENTIAL SEGMENT
Sobha Limited continues to be the Brand Leader in residential segment, even though the brand has taken a beating as National Brand Leader this fiscal year. Godrej Properties with volume & scale has elevated its brand positioning as second best in the segment. Other than Godrej, no other corporate conglomerate could find a place in the Top 10 list of Residential Brand Leaders.
Prestige Group has been pushed down to third best in residential segment across India. Piramal Realty, K Raheja Corp and Embassy Group exit the Brand Leadership chart in the segment.
Ashiana Housing and Sunteck Realty are the new entrant in the segment. Hiranandani Group comes back as among the Top 10 in residential segment. Oberoi Realty, DLF, Brigade and Puravankara retain their last year’s brand standing. These brands have nevertheless improved their Brand Score even though Brand Rank remains the same.
Four each brands from South India and West India, along with two brands from North India found their way into elite list of Brand Leaders of Residential Segment.
SUPER LUXURY
Sobha Limited retains its Brand Leadership position as best super luxury brand for the 5th consecutive time, even though it loses its National Brand Leadership. Sunteck Realty makes a giant comeback after a gap of 3 years with best ever Brand Rank and Brand Score.
Prestige Group scales up as 2nd Best Luxury Brand across India yet again. DLF also improves its Brand Leadership in Luxury Segment and now stands at 3rd spot. Godrej Properties scales up to its best ever performance as 7th best luxury developer this fiscal year.
Kalpataru Realty makes a comeback into the Brand Leadership of Luxury Segment. Oberoi Realty retains its Brand Leadership at Number 6 for 3rd consecutive year with slightly lesser Brand Score this time. Only new entry into the elite list of Luxury Brand Leaders is Phoenix Group this fiscal year.
Embassy Group is witness to biggest Brand Loss this year and scales from 2nd position last fiscal year to now at Number 9. K Raheja Corp scales down from 3rd spot to 5th spot as Luxury Brand this fiscal year. Piramal Realty, Panchshil Realty and ABIL Group make exit from the elite list of Top Brands in the segment.
OFFICE SPACE
Embassy continues to be the Brand Leader in the segment amidst fierce competition. With many REIT listing in the pipeline, Office Space would be the most ‘watch out for’ segment of real estate. With Co-Working spaces getting momentum, the traditional players in the Office Space Segment has to have their own market differentiator.
DLF jumps ahead to be the 2nd Best Brand in the segment. Once the Brand Leader of the segment, DLF looks promising brand in the segment after a few years of turmoil. K Raheja Corp that has finalized plans for REIT listing has been pushed back as Number 3 Brand in the segment.
Brigade Group has improved its Brand Rank in the segment as 8th Best Brand
Oberoi Realty has been pushed to 9th spot this fiscal year. Developers like Prestige Group, RMZ Corp, Godrej Properties and Salarpuria Sattva have retained their respective last year Brand Rank this fiscal year as well.
Most of the proposed foreign funds are expected to be in the Office Space Segment, thus making it more brand competitive.
RETAIL SEGMENT
Phoenix Market City continues to be the Market Leader in Retail Segment this year as well. Virtuous Retail makes a giant entry into the elite list of Brand Leaders in segment at Number 5. Ambience Group also comes back into the Top Retail Brands this year.
Lulu Group gains significantly this year to move up from Number 8 to now 6th Best Brand in the segment. Prestige Group moves up as 3rd Best Brand in the segment while K Raheja Corp is pushed down at Number 4. Oberoi Realty loses its Brand Rank substantially and has scaled down at Number 8 from its previous position as 5th Best Brand in the segment.
Brigade Group is also witness to significant loss of Brand Equity and falls from 6th position last year to now at Number 9. South City Mall retains its last year Brand Ranking at Number 7 yet again.
Mantri Developers goes out of the list of Top Retail Brands amidst controversies at the company level. Emaar India also makes an exit from the Top Retail Brands this time around.
HOSPITALITY SEGMENT
The Indian developers are getting bullish over Hospitality Segment and hence fierce competition is on the cards ahead. A new Brand Leader in the segment emerges with Prestige Group scaling up at Number 1 after a gap of 3 years. K Raheja Corp scales up as the 2nd Best Brand in the segment yet again after a gap of 5 years.
Brand Leader for the last two years, Embassy Group is pushed down at Number 3 this fiscal year . Brigade Group scales up at Number 4 this fiscal year. Oberoi Realty is pushed down at Number 5 of Brand Leadership in the segment.
Eros Group is the only new entry this year that has come back into the elite league of Top Brands of Hospitality Segment at Number 9. Salarpuria Sattva loses its Brand Equity in the segment to be at Number 10 this time around.
Panchshil Realty, ABIL Group and The Phoenix Mills retain their Brand Rank of last fiscal year respectively. The National Brand Leader, Godrej Properties exits the list of Top Hospitality Brands.
SENIOR HOUSING
Senior Housing segment would be more competitive in the time to come with big ticket investments by the deep pockets in the business. It is getting brand competitive as well since differentiation is needed to make it work.
Ashiana Housing continues to be Brand Leader in the segment for 4th consecutive year. Two new brands, Vedanta Senior Living and The Golden Estate, make entry into the elite list of Top 10 Brands in the segment. Vedanta Senior Living makes an impressive entry at Number 7. The Golden Estate registers its presence at Number 8.
Covai Property Center makes a giant leap from Number 6 to Number 3 this fiscal year. Silverglades moves up from 8th spot to now at Number 6. Brigade Group has consistently maintained its 4th position for the last four year.
Paranjape Schemes drops two spots at Number 5 this time around. Rakindo drops from 5th to 9th; and Adani Realty drops from Number 7 to now at Number 10. Two brands, Tata and Mantri, make exit from the list of Top Brands in Senior Housing.
HOME FINANCE
Pressure is quite visible on the Home Finance Companies in India and this segment is witness to turbulent phase; Track2Realty has hence rated with a new parameter of Asset Quality in the wake of rising defaults.
HDFC continues to be the Brand Leader in the Home Finance Segment across India. Indiabulls Housing Finance loses its Brand Equity as the 2nd best in the business and drops at Number 6. SBI Home Finance is the Brand Gainer in the segment that makes a giant leap from its 7th position last fiscal year to now at Number 2; it has scaled up to its best ever Brand Leadership position in the segment.
Most of the public sector banks have restored the consumer trust in the housing finance as some of the privately held banks and financial institutions look to be on shaky ground.
Bank of India is also witness to its best ever Brand Performance as the 5th Best Brand in the segment. ICICI Home Finance scales up as the 3rd Best Brand in the segment after a gap of 3 years.
Axis Bank loses its Brand Leadership and slips down to Number 4 this fiscal year; Tata Capital slips 2 spots to Number 7 now. Bank of Baroda makes an impressive entry into the Top Brands at Number 8. Piramal Capital exits the elite list of Top Brands in the Home Finance segment.
Methodology applied
It has been a hybrid methodology this time around since the pandemic Covid-19 spread during the course of our field survey of the consumers. By that time we had just finished 3000 qualified samples and henceforth had to rely upon the online survey to gauge the mood of the nation vis-à-vis the asset quality and brand reputation of the Indian real estate.
The methodology otherwise has been the same three-pronged: In-house research with whatever information available in the public domain. Whatever information may sound to be vague, but that is the reality in a business where the majority of the companies are not listed, even debt not on the books, and the developers’ reluctance, denial or non-cooperation in providing the data, including the fiscal data and inventory status.
Backed with the research of available data in the public domain, Track2Realty got into a 20-city consumer survey, and then switched to online survey post the national lockdown. The consumers were asked many open-ended and close-ended questions about their experiences & perception about the sector and the respective companies.
Track2Realty also changed the questionnaire with the outbreak of the pandemic to assess the brand resilience during the crisis. The idea has been as much to give the brand rating more grounded and realistic in its 8th year. And finally, we took the opinion of neutral experts in our jury board. In all this exercise more than half the weightage was given to the consumer survey.
Track2Realty is an independent media group managed by a consortium of journalists. Starting as the first e-newspaper in the Indian real estate sector in 2011, the group has today evolved as a think-tank on the sector with specialized research reports and rating & ranking. We are editorially independent and free from commercial bias and/or influenced by investors or shareholders. Our editorial team has no clash of interest in practicing high quality journalism that is free, frank & fearless.
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