The Change Maker In Real Estate

In real estate there are only few companies that could boast of a legacy like SS Group. The company has been in the business for the past 30 years and have quietly but steadily risen to become one of the top real estate companies in NCR. Here we feature our first Change maker, Mr. Ashok Singh Jaunapuria, MD & CEO of SS Group, who is helming the tremendous growth story of the Group. An entrepreneurial mindset, with strong belief in his value system, he is an astute businessmen and an inspiring leader.

 SS Group has suddenly exploded in the NCR market in the past few years. What was the strategy adopted by you to take SS Group at the forefront?

SS Group is an established player in real estate for the past 30 years now. The legacy of our delivery across residential, commercial and retail developments are well known in the market. Our focus over the years has been to do only few projects at a time, so that delivery can be prioritised. As a company, our motto says ‘built by values’. We have always believed in delivery of the projects, as we understand the Indian value system of what owning a home means to our customers. It’s the biggest dream coming true for them. So delivery has always been a priority for us. Post pandemic, the real estate market strengthened and there was a huge demand for RTMI & low rise floors. One of our prestigious projects, The Leaf was stuck as most of the sales was investor led and due to the real estate slump over the past many years, the investors pulled out. Looking at the demand, we expedited the funding for the completion of the project through SWAMIH fund and subsequently received the OC. We also launched a luxury low rise floors project SS Linden Floors, just opposite The Leaf. We hired some of the best talents in the industry and aligned the sales & marketing accordingly. I have always emphasised on getting good professionals and letting them do their jobs.

Tell us more about how you run your day-to-day business and your management style?

I believe in strengthening my team to achieve results. My job is just to keep my team motivated and not to intervene in daily works, unless they seek my help. This lets the team concentrate on their job and feel connected to it. I keep a tab on the progress, but seldom waste time over rounds and rounds of meetings. As far as day to day operations goes, my younger brother, Mr. Sushil Singh Jaunapuria, has been like a pillar of strength to me. I can only concentrate on the overall business strategy and direction of the company, because he has assiduously taken charge of overseeing the day to day operations. For me, if it was not for him, I would not have been able to drive the company and be where we are today. My management style comes from my father, Shri Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria, who devotes his time equally between his constituency duties, being a hon’ble member of parliament from Tonk in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and running our business. He now concentrates completely on the construction side of the business, as I said delivery is our focus. He has always taught us two brothers to work from ground up and not to think twice before folding our sleeves and getting down to do any job required for the business. This philosophy has made me a versatile leader, where I can even oversee construction labours, and also conduct the responsibilities of MD & CEO, which entails dealing with the who’s who of business world.

How do you think the real estate sector here, will pan out in the coming years, even with the fear of slowdown looming over the western world?

While the pandemic brought lot of bad news, it also made everyone realize the importance of owning a home. While the mellenials earlier preferred rented housing, the pandemic brought the attention back to owning a home, because of all the restrictions a rented home comes with. This realization, along with helping factors like WFH, low interest rates and RTMI inventory led the growth in real estate sector over the past 2 years. There is more end-user demand in most of the projects. The customers now prioritise more space inside their homes, amenities that are relevant to their family and usable on day to day basis, a well secured gated community, among others. They are not trusting the developers who have a track record of non-delivery, and hence companies with a reputation and legacy of delivery, like us, are being preferred. Although the interest rates have moved up over past few months, the demand has not come down, as it is not based on availability of finances, but due to the need of owning a home, one’s own space. So I firmly believe that this momentum in the market will continue and developers with good reputation and track record will continue to do good business, over the next couple of years.

As you said the company has been in real estate for the past 30 years, please tell us about this journey?

Actually we are in real estate business for much longer than 30 years. My father, Shri Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria, has a very keen eye for real estate business and has always been a visionary. When Gurugram started its initial journey of becoming a millennium city, my father started to buy land across Gurugram, Sohna Road and New Gurugram areas. Some of these land were then sold to reputed companies, for them to develop projects. Over the years as cashflow stabilised, we thought why to sell the land when we can develop project ourselves? From that thought SS Group was established and our first project- Mayfield Gardens got licensed in 1994. As a developer, we started with Southend Floors in 2000 and initiated delivery by the same year end. This was followed by many other low-rise floors namely- Georgian Residency, Radiance Residency, The Palladians, The Lilac & Aronville. In a way, we gained expertise in developing floors over the years and hence the most recent launch of SS Linden Floors, is the culmination of that expertise. In 2008, we delivered our first group housing project Delight & Splendors, followed by the most prestigious project in our legacy- The Hibiscus in 2012. This project is considered among the most luxurious and upmarket projects in Gurugram, even today. We delivered our first commercial project SS Plaza in 2013. All these developments were done in Gurugram. Then we shifted our focus to the newly developing area of Gurugram- New Gurugram and delivered Almeria, The Coralwood, SS Omnia and The Leaf. Our projects under construction include, Grade A commercial space on Golf Course Extension road- SS 100, a high street retail destination SS Highpoint in New Gurgaon and recent launch being SS Linden Floors in sector 84-85, New Gurugram. We will soon be launching a new Group housing project in sector 83 and a commercial project each in sector 85 and sector 48, Gurugram. We have a huge development potential of approx. 2.60 million Sq. Mtr. for future planning and development.

How would you say, SS Group has become a change maker in the real estate sector in NCR?

There are two aspects, consumer centric approach and hence focus on delivering what is promised. Over the years the consumers have realized a very important aspect in real estate, that not all companies who come in to real estate, has the wherewithal and intention of delivering projects, no matter how big these companies were. When The Leaf project got delayed due to investors pulling out, and real estate sector was also going through a rough period, sales plummeted. Then SWAMIH fund was announced and we did not loose a minute in applying to seek the funds required for delivery. We were the first in NCR to be funded and probably the first to have paid back to the fund entirely. In which other group, can you see the founder of the group, running on ground, almost on daily basis to ensure construction is done as per standards, as my father does? We are probably the only company that focused on Gurugram market and have never thought of moving to other NCR areas, because of our sharp focus towards delivery at hand and not to spread ourselves thin. This is the reason consumers have reposed trust in us over the past 30 years and we were able to withstand the slump, whereas many reputed developers got obliterated. We are also getting more and more professionals at leadership roles to run our day to day business, again with a focus on customer centricity.

Tell us about Ashok Singh Jaunapuria as an individual, how do you keep up with the daily pressures of business and keep the momentum going?

Ours is a very close knit family and we still stay together as a joint family. The values and ethos that my father and mother has instilled in me and my brother, has made the family bond stronger. We follow the Indian value system religiously and celebrate all traditions and occasions together. For relaxation, spending time with my family comes first, followed by my work-out sessions. I wake up at 3 AM and spend a good 2-3 hours in the gym. I believe a healthy body ensures a healthy mindset. I am also a god-loving person and offer prayers to Hanuman Ji & Mata Rani daily, without fail. All these habits, I believe, have kept me moving on the right path and helped me cope up with the ever dynamic business requirements.

(A marketing initiative by Open Avenues)

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