From fashion marketer to selling homes

By Lydia Limbe

Jayesh Chanda, Operations and Marketing Manager TRV Group tells us about his career growth:

1. Are Mulberry Apartments developed by an individual?

Not really. The company — TRV Group — was started by my father eight years ago. We have different projects — the Mulberry Apartments and several commercial office blocks, including TRV Plaza, Commodore Office Suites in Kilimani and TRV Towers in Ngara.

2. How do you handle the development of these projects? Aren’t they cash-intensive in terms of cost of building as well as cost of land?

Yes they are. That is why we only concentrate on one project in a year. All the properties we have put up have been constructed on land that we own. We have one construction company we use for all our projects. So far, we have three commercial buildings and three residential properties we have done under the brand name Mulberry.

There’s one in Ruaka, another in Kileleshwa and Lavington. A fourth one is coming up in Ruiru.

3. What were you doing before you came into the property business?

I was a marketer in retail fashion in Australia.

4. Why the switch?

I had come home for holidays, and there was an opportunity at my father’s company. I decided to take it up and give it a try.

5. Aren’t fashion and real estate worlds apart?

From the point of product difference, yes they are worlds apart. But from a marketing perspective, the methodologies and principles are the same. The only difference is that in retail fashion, the client has to come to you (at the store) while in real estate; you have to go to the client.

6. So what are some of the ‘go-to-the-client’ methodologies you employ in your current real estate marketing practice?

We’ve had to advertise in the mass media a lot. We advertise in the newspapers, property magazines, TV shows, as well as exhibit at homes expos in Nairobi. We’ve also had to work with several selling agents like Knight Frank, Tysons, and others.

But our biggest selling point is by word of mouth. No type of marketing beats referrals from people who have tried and tested your product.

7. Does TRV Group have all the professionals needed to do the projects in-house?

No. We work with various professionals on a need-based basis. The most consistent one of them all is the contractor, who has worked with the company from the beginning. We have a lean staff of 12 who help us in the day-to-day running of the TRV Group operations.

8. If you put a price tag on an apartment, say like the one in Ruaka at Sh7.5 million for the two bedroom one, do you get people who buy at that price?

(Laughs lightly) How I wish! People will always negotiate. That is why with the Ruaka apartments, we’ve added an incentive. If anyone buys at the price set, we fully furnish the kitchen for them.

9. What if I negotiate down to Sh6 million?

Very tempting! However, we do not accept cash as we have no way of verifying the source of that money. Negotiation is part of any deal, and when we agree on a figure, the down payment has to be done legally through signed agreements and a real time funds transfer done from the client’s bank account to our company account.

10. What are your insights on Kenya’s real estate industry?

Kenya, Nairobi especially, is like any other global developed city. People are busy at work, if not that they are held up in traffic. They simply have no time.

As TRV Group, we are now toying with the idea of giving a whole package to our residential target market. Instead of just furnishing the kitchen, we are looking at partnering with budget furniture companies to fully furnish the houses on purchase for our clients.

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