Special: The new king of the heart of the city

The year 2000 was crucial for Bengaluru’s Central Business District, for the city skyline received a makeover it would never have imagined possible.

Cut to 2013: A new set of office, residential and hotel buildings that clearly outclass the rest sprang up in 2013, thanks to a young builder, Nitesh Shetty, who took the city by storm.

These brought the world’s best architects - KPF, Wimberly Allison Tong & GOO, HOK, Belt Collins and Juron, to name a few – to the city’s doorstep. In little under a decade, the upstart builder outshone the veterans.

Nitesh Estates, which began in 2000, has added a brand new segment to the realty sector- luxury real estate. The group now proudly boasts ultra-modern, top-of-the-line buildings in every quarter. Clearly, 2013 was a momentous year for Nitesh.

In a span of just eight years, Nitesh Estates has brought more than 20 million sq ft of space under development, to create premium living, working, lifestyle and leisure space- a phenomenal growth fuelled by the resolute and dynamic leadership of its founding Managing Director, Nitesh Shetty.

Today, the company is a listed entity on BSE and NSE. The company has now laid claim to the CBD, with over a dozen creations in locations that no other leading realty firm in Bengaluru could have thought possible.     

In the home segment, the aspirational quotient was significantly raised, as Nitesh Estates dishs out premium apartments and condos like Nitesh Wimbledon Park, Nitesh Buckingham Gate, Nitesh Canary Wharf, Nitesh Logos, Nitesh Park Avenue and Nitesh Plaza all within a 2 km radius from MG Road. 

Some of their office spaces - Nitesh Broadway, Nitesh Timesquare, Nitesh Lexington Avenue and Nitesh Plaza, for instance, have swept leading multi national corporations off their feet. Nitesh became a sought after address for every Fortune 500 company.

The Ritz Carlton Bangalore is another jewel in the crown for the firm, for the hotel took everybody by surprise.

Their signature building in the Central Business District remained a well-kept secret for over five years.

That is not all, the Nitish Mall in Indiranagar, which is set to open in 2014, promises to be the city’s next shopping and entertainment destination, apart from adding 1.2 million sqft to retail space. Nitish’s reply to Prestige’s UB City, perhaps?

The company is growing rapidly, with plans to expand operations in places like Goa, Chennai and Cochin.

Nitesh Estates has a series of firsts to its credit –the first to win India's largest corporate housing project (ITC Limited); it is among the first few to attract FDI in real estate (Och Ziff and Citigroup) and the distinction of bringing to India the Global Luxury Chain - Ritz Carlton Hotels, by setting up its first property here in Bengaluru.

The design-driven, cutting edge facades, created in collaboration with the world’s best architects, with flawless interiors have ensured that Nitesh Estates is a cut above the rest. In 2014, they will continue to raise the bar of super luxury living.

Next: As money is to ‘mynt’ra

As money is to ‘mynt’ra

Sangeetha Chengappa |?DC

Ashutosh Lawania, co-founder of Myntra.com calls Bengaluru his favourite city.

A surprising revelation, given that he was born in Agra and raised in different towns in UP before he took off to IIT-Kanpur for a BTech in materials and metallurgy.

By way of explanation he says, “Since my father was in a transferable job, I have never lived anywhere for as long as I have in this city. We chose to start Myntra in Bengaluru, the city of innovations, and after spending 12 years here, I have grown to consider it my home.”

Myntra started off in 2007 as a B2B online venture that sold personalized gifts like T-shirts, coffee mugs, caps, shoes etc. In 2010, it metamorphosed into a fashion and lifestyle online retailer that sells directly to consumers.

Being at the helm of one of India’s largest fashion and lifestyle online retailers, which has notched up over Rs 500 crore in sales and is confident of touching Rs 800 crore by March 2014, can be quite stressful.

But, Ashutosh has the perfect antidote to beat stress- early morning drives to Nandi Hills and playing cricket and tennis every weekend with his buddies.

Although Myntra retails over 600 brands online, including 40 international brands, has recently introduced 7 in-house private labels, and is a well-known name in the country today, Ashutosh dreams that Myntra will someday take on the aura of ASOS.com, UK’s largest online fashion and beauty retailer. “ASOS is an aspirational but affordable brand” said Ashutosh.

The future for online retailers in India is bright, he says.

“The total expenditure in e-commerce is approximately $2 billion in India, this is estimated to touch $30 billion by 2018 and cross $50 billion by 2023.

Tier 2 & 3 cities will present online retailers with the chance to reach out to millions of people who want access to all that consumers in metros have” he said.

In the early days, Ashutosh and co-founder Mukesh Bansal found it very difficult to attract the right talent to join Myntra, when they operated out of a home office in HSR layout.

Now, the Myntra office is bright, airy and colourful. Interesting break out zones have been created for employees to relax –a quick workout in the gym, catching up with colleagues in the cafeteria and the gaming area. 

What keeps Ashutosh going?

“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, inspired me to make Myntra a household name. Milkha Singh had nothing, he overcame all the hardships that came his way and trained himself to be on par and compete with the world’s best athletes. I’ve learnt a major lesson from the ‘Flying Sikh’ – Never give up on your goal, keep trying and keep fighting till success is yours to savour.”