India set to become YOO’s biggest market for branded residences

New Delhi: YOO, a global design and real estate brand, expects India to become its biggest market for branded residences amid increasing demand and new project proposals, a top executive said.

“We are exploring some projects in Pune and Kolkata and are even getting some requests from tier-2 cities as well,” James Snelgar, partner and head of international business development at YOO, told ET.

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YOO, founded by French designer and architect Philippe Starck and British property entrepreneur John Hitchcox, has executed 6–7 real estate projects in India over a decade, and is in talks to do 4–5 more.

“The kind of enquiries we are getting recently is an indicator of inherent demand in the Indian market,” Snelgar said. “We don’t have any target in mind, but in the non-hospitality branded residences segment, we think we can capture the market.”

YOO is doing its first project in North India with Dalcore Group, which is investing Rs 500 crore to develop 96 luxury 3 BHK and 4 BHK apartments in a single tower in approximately two acres of land.

Besides this, YOO has designed five projects across Pune and Hyderabad. It has collaborated with Lodha in Mumbai and DN Group in Bhubaneswar.

The company has more than 30 residential projects in its portfolio worldwide, including Sky Oasis in Macau, Icon Brickell in Miami, and Gramercy in New York.

“The idea behind engaging with a designer like Starck is to give consumers a different product where the luxury is visible,” said Sidharth Chowdhry, managing director of Dalcore. This is the developer’s first project in North India.

Starck pioneered the concept of ‘designer hotel’ with hotels like the Delano in Miami. He also designed the Olympic torch for the 1992 Winter Olympics and redesigned the private apartment of former French president François Mitterrand at the Élysée Palace. The French government named him a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

According to Knight Frank, India ranks sixth globally in terms of live branded residential projects, contributing approximately 4% of the world’s supply.

A projection by Noesis Capital Advisors indicates that the number of branded residence projects in India could increase by nearly 60% by 2027, underscoring rising demand, especially in the NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.