Lodha vs Lodha: Abhishek Lodha on the Lodha brand war between brothers

Lodha vs Lodha: Abhishek Lodha on the Lodha brand war between brothers

2025-01-26 10:01:00 :

BENGALURU: Macrotech Developers Ltd (Lodha Group), led by Abhishek Lodha, recently filed a case in the Bombay High Court seeking restraint on the use of the Lodha brand name by House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), a real estate company founded by brother Abhinandan Lodha.

Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers claimed that HoABL’s use of the Lodha name led to confusion among customers about the brand. Marcotech filed a lawsuit against HoABL, accusing it of infringing Lodha Group’s trademarks and passing off HoABL’s business as Macrotech’s business. The next court hearing will be held on January 27.

Speaking for the first time since the lawsuit was filed, Abhishek Lodha, managing director and CEO of Macrotech, spoke in an interview about the importance of the brand and the inevitable legal recourse.

ALSO READ | Loda vs. Loda: A family agreement pits the Loda brothers against each other

Lodha also said that the October-December quarter was Macrotech’s best ever in terms of pre-sales and the company is on track to achieve its targets for the full financial year (2024-25). On Saturday, Macrotech Developers, which focuses on residential development, reported an 87% year-on-year surge in net profit to $944.8 crore in the December quarter. Revenue jumped 39.3% $4,083 Crores.

Edited excerpts:

How important is branding to real estate developers?
In a complex field like real estate, brand is the ultimate identifier. The consumer derives comfort from the brands he buys from, which largely influences his purchasing decision. Therefore, for customers, who they engage with and the credibility of the developer’s brand play a very critical role. Brand is the sum total of quality, financial capability, integrity and everything a company stands for.

Why is the ‘Lodha’ brand name so important to Macrotech developers?
We will do everything we can to protect the brand because it is essential that consumers are not misled. For us, consumers need to realize that when they think they are dealing with Lodha, they are actually dealing with the Lodha brand.

When family separation occurs, $The company has a debt of Rs 20,000 crore and I have taken on this responsibility. Abhinandan is my brother and I always wish him the best. I want him to have a new start in life and don’t mind him doing real estate. However, our brands may not be used or misused by anyone else.

Why resort to legal means? Why can’t it be resolved through discussion, arbitration, etc.?
There are many, many examples of the Lodha brand being used to mislead customers. Why else would I do this? As a family, we can do whatever we can to solve this problem. I love him like my brother and it’s very painful. But this is a public company backed by several global blue-chip investors and one of India’s largest philanthropic entities as shareholders. Trademarks are extremely valuable. This is a simple trademark issue; there is no personal dispute.

On the earnings front, can Macrotech meet its 2024-25 pre-sales guidance? $Rs 17,500 crore?
The October to December quarter was our best quarter ever in terms of pre-sales, $4,510 Crores, Our Strongest Collection Performance Ever $4,290 Crores. From the perspective of business development, we have achieved our goal by the end of the third quarter. Despite significant investments, we reduced net debt $600 Crores to $4,310 Crores.

Overall, the brand is performing strongly as a business and has strong connections with consumers who value its products and services. This allows us to achieve strong sales and profitability, which is what we are looking for as a business. The fourth quarter is typically a strong time for real estate. we need about $Pre-sales in the quarter reached Rs 4,700 crore, meeting full-year pre-sales guidance $175 billion rupees, we should be able to do it.

ALSO READ | Mint Primer: What will drive real estate growth in 2025

Apart from your core market – Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) – will Pune and Bengaluru contribute more in the future?
We have added a fifth property in Bangalore. We launched two projects earlier and the third one should be launched in the next few months. The market we are trying to enter in Bangalore is selling for $1-5 Crores, for highly qualified professionals. In FY25, Pune and Bengaluru combined may contribute a little over 20% of our sales. We will expand the scale of both markets.

Recent reports suggest home sales will stabilize in 2024. Do you agree?
The report shows an interesting trend, with total sales rising but sales numbers falling. I believe the housing market is part of a long-term cycle. We did see a slowdown in the urban economy in the first half of this (fiscal) year for a variety of reasons. In real estate, however, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to worry if you see the actual sales performance of the top companies.

ALSO READ | Indian real estate remains keen on luxury, quality housing by 2025

Follow us On Social Media   Twitter/X

Join WhatsApp

Join Now