Filling up the demand-supply gap equals success
“Yesterday you
told me ‘bout the blue blue sky, and all that I can see, is just a yellow lemon-tree.” This one is definitely from the Fool’s Garden! However, the one which we are talking about is not just another lemon tree but the one identifiable with refreshing ambience, tangy & spicy fragrances and of course the plush green, yellow interiors sparkling with zest - Lemon Tree Hotels.
No doubt, there has always been an acute shortage of non-five star hotel rooms in the country. And sensing the same, Patu Keswani, an IIT-Delhi and IIM-Kolkata alumni sowed the seed for this Lemon Tree in 2002. All he had was a mere Rs.30 million (too less to start a hotel chain) but of course a rich 15 years experience with Taj Group of Hotels – a factor that led this sapling’s fast growth into a full fledged tree.
Already boasting a presence across major cities in India, which include Gurgaon, Goa, Pune and Delhi, the company is now planning to add 18 more hotels to its portfolio. “By the end of 2009 we plan to increase our rooms to 1,200, which will further go up to 2,500 rooms in 2011,” avers Keswani, Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels. The company has even purportedly received investments worth $30 million from Japan’s Shinsei Bank and Kotak Realty Fund, which has further triggered the value of the firm to over $500 million, making it the third largest hospitality firm in India, by value.
But the germination of this lemon seed was not as profound as it seems as it’s the land cost, which accounts for at least 60% of the total project cost in India. Moreover, the running cost of such projects is quite high too. So among the gamut of ginger, banyan, choice et al, what triggered him to develop an upscale moderately priced hotel? Reminisces Patu, “I felt that Indians customers should get better. They had no choice - either stay in a five-star hotel and pay an enormous price or stay in a third class hotel at a cheap price. And this forced me to start a hotel chain which could give them both service and quality at a low price.” And that’s not all! They even had to swallow a fatal rejection for investment at first instance from Warburg Pincus, (one of leading PE equity firms in the world).
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
“Yesterday you
told me ‘bout the blue blue sky, and all that I can see, is just a yellow lemon-tree.” This one is definitely from the Fool’s Garden! However, the one which we are talking about is not just another lemon tree but the one identifiable with refreshing ambience, tangy & spicy fragrances and of course the plush green, yellow interiors sparkling with zest - Lemon Tree Hotels.No doubt, there has always been an acute shortage of non-five star hotel rooms in the country. And sensing the same, Patu Keswani, an IIT-Delhi and IIM-Kolkata alumni sowed the seed for this Lemon Tree in 2002. All he had was a mere Rs.30 million (too less to start a hotel chain) but of course a rich 15 years experience with Taj Group of Hotels – a factor that led this sapling’s fast growth into a full fledged tree.
Already boasting a presence across major cities in India, which include Gurgaon, Goa, Pune and Delhi, the company is now planning to add 18 more hotels to its portfolio. “By the end of 2009 we plan to increase our rooms to 1,200, which will further go up to 2,500 rooms in 2011,” avers Keswani, Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels. The company has even purportedly received investments worth $30 million from Japan’s Shinsei Bank and Kotak Realty Fund, which has further triggered the value of the firm to over $500 million, making it the third largest hospitality firm in India, by value.
But the germination of this lemon seed was not as profound as it seems as it’s the land cost, which accounts for at least 60% of the total project cost in India. Moreover, the running cost of such projects is quite high too. So among the gamut of ginger, banyan, choice et al, what triggered him to develop an upscale moderately priced hotel? Reminisces Patu, “I felt that Indians customers should get better. They had no choice - either stay in a five-star hotel and pay an enormous price or stay in a third class hotel at a cheap price. And this forced me to start a hotel chain which could give them both service and quality at a low price.” And that’s not all! They even had to swallow a fatal rejection for investment at first instance from Warburg Pincus, (one of leading PE equity firms in the world).
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Companies snap up non-IIM B-school grads
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM awards four Bengali novelists
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
» IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
No comments:
Post a Comment