HAPPILY BUILDING A WORLD FOR ALL, BEYOND THE STRUCTURES-A CASE OF CORAL GROUP, REAL ESTATE & INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT DEVELOPERS, INDIA

Kavaldeep Dixit 1 , Tanjul Saxena 2 and Bharti Sharma 3 . 1. Professor & Vice-Principal, International School of Informatics and Management, Sector 12, Mahaveer Marg, Mansarovar, Jaipur-302020, Rajasthan. 2. Associate Professor, IIHMR University, 1, Prabhudayal Marg, Sanganer Airport, Jaipur302011. 3. Associate Professor, International School of Informatics and Management, Sector 12, Mahaveer Marg, Mansarovar, Jaipur-302020, Rajasthan. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

Positioned with the statement "Soaring High With Excellence", the group is using proprietary products, services, design and technology with the aim of ensuring a high value quotient for Coral Properties and enriching the value for the stakeholders. Their ventures in the Real Estate Industry received felicitations, appreciation and acceptability from the realtors, architecture fraternity and corporate houses.
Born on 12 th June, 1947 Mr. Daga a visionary entrepreneur has been instrumental in steering the group"s various businesses. His keen business acumen quickly translated the rapid urbanisation, positive demographics and increasing income levels into opportunity as he foresaw the demand for Open Lands, Residential Villas and Apartments from Indian and NRI customers. He decided to diversify Coral Group business by entering into realty sector. Gauging the potential at the right time, he commenced his real estate journey from the pink city. Satisfied investors and lucrative state government policies motivated the group to expand its offering to Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Alwar and Neemrana in the long run.
Coral's Journey:-Coral group commenced its operations in 1965 with entry in paper manufacturing industry. Mr. Shyam Sunder Daga worked day and night to create a mark for his venture. His labor bore fruits as paper business witnessed tremendous success and expanded in most part of the country especially north India. The group"s exceptional product quality matched with creative marketing and promotional activities created quite a stir in the paper market. Riding on this success under the leadership of Mr. Daga the group also launched notebook of coral in 2001 which got appreciable response from the customers.
After dealing in paper business for 33 years the group diversified into tyre industry and after two years made a foray into real estate business with the mission-"To build world class Real Estate concepts in all segments of real estate with the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, quality & customer service." From 2004 when Coral entered into high-rise multistoried building in Jaipur to 2015 when it extended its boundaries by launching projects Coral City in Neemrana and Coral Richmond at Pune there has been no looking back for the group. Exhibit I highlights Group"s Mission, Vision and Values.

Exhibit 1:-Mission and Vision Vision
To be the most sought after organization of the twenty-first century. To contribute significantly to the social-economic transformation. To become the company known for trust and deliverance. To be synonym for creditworthiness, transparency , and conscientiousness. To be responsible to the environment and ecology of our world.

Mission
To provide not only homes but to provide a ultra modern lifestyle. To provide our customers with a consistent and enjoyable property buying experience. To strive for customer delight as our first and foremost priority. To live up to our values and exceed customers expectation. To grow through continuous innovation and improvement. To employ hi-tech working environment in our company.

Values
To provide the customers the desired product. To fulfill the dreams of people through our efforts. To comply and respect all community, environmental, and legal requirements. To be the most sought after Realty Solutions in the niche segments of Jaipur metropolitan region by leveraging group"s core competence, knowledge and expertise. Source: www.coralgroup.co.in 531 Coral's Value Chain:-The value chain for Coral Group is spread over four phases (Refer Exhibit-I) including conceptualization of project, planning and designing, development and finally handing over and maintenance. Based on the scale, location, size and type of development the launch of the entire project takes around three to six years.

Exhibit-I CORAL's Value Chain
To sustain effectively, at conceptualization stage, the Group has to manage verification of the title of the land, ensure access to real time data for feasibility analysis, identify suitable time for project launch and prepare detailed project reports and develop financial models etc.
Under Planning & Designing Coral has to manage adequate knowledge of the approval process, work-out timelines & cost impact of approvals, draft suitable construction plan, devise adequate budgetary provisions, identify suitable vendors to meet the time and cost expectations of the project. The group also has to assess the supplier and contractor"s credentials, plan appropriate strategy for sales and marketing, develop and retain the sales channel and agents, follow up with customers for payments, gather customer feedback and analyze their requirements.
In development stage the group prepares detailed construction schedule, mobilizes skilled manpower, implements adequate quality management systems, monitors vendor performance, checks project progress and secures various approvals and sanctions for building occupancy.
Under maintenance the group plans facility management activities, manages the left out activities from the construction phase, executes the operations & maintenance contracts and finalizes proper process for obtaining timely and accurate management information system (MIS) reports.
The group strategically manages its core activities to deliver high level of customer satisfaction.
Before investing time and money to a project, Coral team takes steps to investigate all possible outcomes. The CEO & COO along with company"s Chartered Accountant, project managers, architects and construction team undertake a feasibility study, which is their preliminary research encompassing all legal, economic, financial and technological factors.
To achieve progressive growth, have competitive advantage and leverage remarkable urbanisation growth, Coral Group is benchmarking and adopting "Leading Industry Practices".

Conceptualizatio n of project
Planning and designing Development Handing over and maintenance 3-6 years depending on scale, location, size and type of development

Coral Group's Projects:-
The group is leading in constructing Modern Houses which would stand the test of times. Blending the best of utility with creativity, Coral"s projects exemplify amazing architecture and facilities. Striking apartments at the most vantage locations fabulously adorn the cities of Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota, Neemrana and Alwar. The group entered the residential real estate space with G+4(Ground+four Levels) projects but has now raised it to G+9 (Ground+nine), G+10 (Ground+ten) projects. Coral has also moved to more high end projects and is experimenting with new and modern elevation, contemporary view and upgraded quality norms. Building reputation over time Coral has handled close to around forty projects. Table 1 depicts details of selected completed/ on-going projects handled by the Group highlighting the projects positioning, customer value proposition and format of development (where, BHK indicates Bedrooms, Hall and Kitchen). It also exhibits the recent two launches Coral City and Coral Richmond. The branding of the projects has been done meticulously to grab customer attention. The family brand name has been clubbed with individual brand name like, Coral Greens, Coral Shubh Niwas, Coral Evoq, etc. In launching new projects the team has paid careful attention to the location, design, exteriors, interiors, amenities, etc. in order to deliver maximum satisfaction to its stakeholders.

Source: Self-compiled by authors
Coral's Promotion Strategy:-Effective promotion is critical for Coral"s team as they want to ensure that the right consumers are tapped and objectives are met. The company has implemented several marketing promotions that have stood the test of time for their effectiveness in attracting real estate customers and enhancing market share.
Main promotional activities adopted by them include: 534 Participation in national and international property Expo"s which provide an excellent platform to Coral Group to showcase their best properties. To tap NRI customers Coral team has participated in exhibitions hosted in Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.
Extensive use of social networking sites by the group to stay connected with the tech-savvy urban consumer where, they share daily updates on ongoing projects, construction updates, site photos, elevation photos, events news, news about upcoming projects details and real estate news. These sites have also contributed in research as the company is able to design offerings for its customers based on their feedback. The group regularly conducts quizzes and contests to keep alive customers interest in their offerings.
Focus on both print and online advertisements with pop ups on property portals like, 99 acres, magic bricks, housing.com, makaan.com, indiapropert.com, olx.in, quickr.com, etc.have enhanced group"s visibility.
Canopy activity and presentations in corporate offices by the marketing team to tap professionals/business executives adds on to lead generation. Festival discounts, subvention schemes for pre-launch projects, bulk e-mail shooting, bulk SMS campaigning, circulation of monthly magazines have favorably worked in increasing sales.

Business Model:-
The elements of a successful business model as proposed by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur have been considered for present study. Business model provides insights into how organizations create, deliver and retain value.
Flourishing companies mostly operate according to a business model that as per research of Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) can be broken down into nine elements: a customer value proposition that fulfills an important job for the customer in a better way than competitors; customer segment help companies in identifying their target audience; customer relations focuses on nature of relationship to strengthen the bond; channels ensure reaching out to customers and delivery of value proposition along with key partners, key resources and key activities needed to deliver that proposition. Under prudent financial management cost structure covers costs incurred in business operations while revenue stream decides how the company makes money.
These nine building blocks have been depicted in by the authors in a single diagram called the business model canvas (Refer Exhibit-II). It keeps the value proposition at the centre of the business model as the core focus area. The customer building blocks (customer segments, channels and relationships) have been placed to the right of the value proposition and infrastructure building blocks (resources, activities and partners) have been kept to the left. The finance-based building blocks (revenue and cost structure) have been highlighted on the lower portion of the diagram. 537 amenities offered varies from rupees 2,400 per sq. ft. to 10,000 sq. ft. The group deals in flats ranging from 11 lakhs to one crore.

Cost structure:-
The cost structure covers the major costs that need to be incurred to sustain the business model. It also includes allocation of costs over various activities and the economies of scale. For Coral Group project cost mainly depends upon land cost, raw materials cost, direct labour, indirect expenses (electricity bills, water, telephone bills, stationary), human resources (office work), promotional expenses, etc.

Source: Self-Compiled by Authors
Future Plans:-The Indian real estate sector is in a state of flux with changing economic scenario and proposed real estate laws. In the evolving environment, both buyers and developers are embracing change. Developers are coming up with new formats of properties to capitalise on the changing environment while buyers are also becoming more discerning and demanding better quality and services from the developers.
Differentiated with its singular zeal for innovative approaches Coral has brought the realty sector closer to the people and its futuristic vision encompasses: Geographical Market Expansion: With an aim to intensify its market reach and explore new markets with its distinctive offerings Coral is moving beyond Rajasthan and plans to bring more projects in different cities.

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Enhancing Customer Base: To delight the domestic customers as well as attract the International customers, largely the NRI"s the group is actively participating in property expo"s of Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, Bangkok, Japan, Malaysia, London and UAE countries. Participation in these international expo"s has provided interesting insights into latest technology know-how, innovative designs and effective marketing strategies. Equipped with this knowledge the group plans to enhance customer experience.

Expansion Beyond Sectorial Boundaries:
Having spread its synergies of perfection and sophistication in Residential lifestyle projects the group affirms to present magnificent Commercial and Hospitality projects in the nearer times to come.
Augmented Amenities: In tune with changing customer preferences the company strives to offer incremental benefits to the customers. In their recently launched project at Neemrana the group has launched a club with about fifty-one facilities like, water cascade, palm court, aroma garden, planters cum seating walls, miniature golf course, etc. In future also the group aims to launch out-of-the box amenities.
Value Housing Initiative: While property prices are not precisely a product of developers' discretion, the decision to alter apartment sizes as per the preferences and spending power of buyers is definitely within their ambit. To have sustained affordability of residential real estate Coral Group has launched projects with smaller flat area. For example, Coral City, Neemrana has flat area starting from 595 sq.ft. while Coral Richmond, Pune has flat area beginning from 655 sq. ft.
Tapping Innovative Channels: On the lines of Tata Housing which pioneered the concept of online home buying in India by partnering with Google for "The Great Online Shopping Festival" in December 2013and selling over 50 units, Coral Group also plans to tap the potential of e-commerce platform to sell more homes in days to come.

Novelty in Housing:
As customers become more conscious about the environment and seek better lifestyle, Green homes are becoming popular and with the National Housing Bank and some commercial banks offering incentives on loans for environment-friendly buildings Coral Group is implementing eco-friendly building concepts in homes. Moreover as home buyers are no longer content with the pre-designed homes and want more flexibility and control over how they want their apartments to eventually look Coral Group in future plans to customise apartments, where buyers can select their own layout, floors, kitchen and other key aspects. Driven by demand from the corporate sector, the Group also plans to launch serviced apartments which are furnished residential units with accompanied housekeeping, concierge and maintenance services, on tune of a hotel accommodation.

Conclusion and suggestions:-
After the analysis of the business model from Coral Group we proceed to generalize the same to the real estate sector in India so as to enhance its potential.
The above analysis concluded that the ability of the organization to identify target customers with specific needs and providing them with optimal value propositions, thereby strengthening a brand is an ability that every manufacturer considers relevant. Following are the key take away pointers from the present business model: Effective management of the project from conceptualization to planning and designing, development and finally handing over and maintenance is absolutely essential for success.
It is important to identify and analyze customers in order to develop relevant value proposition for each segment. Customer engagement is an important aspect for any firm and developers must ensure the continuation of the level of customer satisfaction and delight their customers.
In the real estate sector, acquiring land and maintaining liquidity are two critical success factors. If the land is well located and the firm maintains adequate liquidity, the company is bound to grow.
The builder should attempt to deliver a quality-constructed product with apt financing.
Networking with architects, engineers, project managers, regulatory bodies, etc. is essential for project success.

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Communication with internal customers (employees) as well as external customers is important. Investing in adequate promotions ensures customer experience and loyalty.
"We have striven to make a difference in the life of every person and raised the industry benchmarks to give back to the society and the earth a better tomorrow for everyone. We believe in "Happily Building a world for all, beyond the structures" with these words of Giriraj Daga, CEO the group takes on new challenges, scale new heights and continues its quest for "Creating Wonders, Spreading Smiles."