Thor Urbana Capital, a Mexican real estate investment and development company seeks to create value for communities through the acquisition\/development, leasing and management of real estate projects in Mexico\u2019s largest markets. Capitalizing on Mexico\u2019s lack of cutting edge projects and approved structural reforms (finance, telecom, energy), the company is trying to redefine the way consumers shop, eat and sleep.<\/p>\n
The Traditional Business Model:<\/p>\n
Hotels, office buildings, industrial warehouses and shopping centers are known as Income Producing Properties (IPP) in real estate lingo. Creating a successful IPP requires an extensive skillset since you are dealing with and coordinating architects, government officials, investors, tenants, spreadsheets, marketers, brokers, banks, lawyers, fiscal strategists, property administrators and more. The investor\/developer who is best able to manage these different players while delivering new and differentiated projects in carefully selected locations (location, location, location) should enjoy long term success.<\/p>\n
The aforementioned operating model requires many different companies, with different incentives and cultures to coordinate effectively. Each engaged company or supplier will bill the investor\/developer for its share of project expenses plus a profit margin. The more service providers the development process involves, the more expensive and more difficult to manage it becomes. Information sharing is usually centralized by the development company and shared to the suppliers\/advisors as the project advances, but with complex and sometimes long developments (12-36 months for large projects), errors can easily occur. These are not a problem when you are on the drawing board, but pouring cement 1 foot away from the desired location because the construction team didn\u2019t get the updated architectural renderings can quickly raise costs or have the project stopped for inspection by local government.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not as hard as it sounds, this model is still the norm in the Mexican development community and will be for the foreseeable future. But for companies seeking to create grade-A, institutional quality projects, it is often not enough. In an era where technology has enabled shoppers to buy virtually any product from their mobile devices, how does a real estate developer create projects who entice shoppers to physically shop at the stores when they can get the same products from home?<\/p>\n
The New Business Model:<\/p>\n
TUC\u2019s business model is unique in many different ways. Firstly, it has decided to focus on acquiring and developing projects in Mexico\u2019s densest cities, therefore significantly increasing the competition\u2019s barriers to entry since well-located real estate lots are few and far between. It has also decided to develop fashion centers (sometimes called \u201clifestyle\u201d centers), the country\u2019s best performing type of retail asset which accounts for only ~7% of all available shopping centers. This coupled with Mexico\u2019s 2011 lowering of tariffs for Chinese clothing products, has created unprecedented demand for newer and trendier shopping spaces, such as those offered by TUC, from the large fashion brands who have entered and are still entering the market (Forever 21, H&M, Aeropostale, etc.). But its execution is what really sets TUC apart. Instead of subcontracting the development, leasing, marketing and management of the projects to third parties, TUC does it all in-house. This vertical integration provides many benefits to the real estate development process, among them:<\/p>\n
Many tasks, however, still remain in the hands of more experienced teams. Processes such as architecture and design, landscaping, signaling and car inflow and outflow simulations are outsourced, to ensure the highest quality.<\/p>\n
The Results:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a little over three years since the company raised equity. It is now among the top three most active developers in the country, with ~1.0M m2 (11M SF) under construction. Its projects have captured some of the market\u2019s highest rents, and some even have waiting lists from tenants looking to lease space in them. Having processes in-house has enabled TUC to control more effectively its process times, react quicker to tenant demands or competing bids while focusing its energy on the development aspects that online shopping cannot replicate: architecture and design. When these combine, in a well-constructed and well-located project that has the latest retailers showcasing their products, you create a sense of arrival and a sense of place. A place where people like to see and be seen, impossibly replaced in online commerce.<\/p>\n
Real estate development is long and tedious in nature, and only time will tell if TUC\u2019s projects will indeed be successful, nevertheless, it is pushing Mexican real estate development in the right direction.<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.economist.com\/news\/americas\/21606269-foreigners-enthuse-over-enrique-pe-nietos-reforms-mexicans-are-warier-power-and<\/a><\/p>\n