WeLive is set to debut in India in 2019
WeLive, a co living concept owned and operated by NY headquartered WeWork, is set to debut in India in 2019. The SoftBank-backed company is currently piloting the project in US and is in talks with its Indian partner, Embassy Group to launch it in the country to tap the growing numbers of millennial. WeLive currently serves hundreds of members across 400 apartments at its first two locations, WeLive Wall Street (New York City) and WeLive Crystal City (Virginia), which opened in April 2016 and May 2016 respectively. “Just as WeWork transformed the mode people work through its belief of flexible office pace, services, community and social interaction, WeLive will offer a disruptive substitute to the way people live. There is massive opportunity in the colive space in India and WeLive is very bullish about it. The firm will definitely enter the country in 2019,” said two people directly aware of the developments. Karan Virwani, chief WeWork executive officer, WeWork India refused to comment on the development. Through WeLive, the Adam Neuman-led company offers service apartment with facilities such as communal kitchens stocked with dishes and cooking utensils, televisions, cozy furnished bed, Wi-Fi, laundry amongst others. “WeWork is s betting heavily on its new co-living venture. The concept is being perfected globally before being rolled out in India to achieve scale,” said one person quoted above. The Indian co-living market is at a very nascent stage with only few organized players. However, the trend is catching up in major cities as the housing market passages away from the proprietorship towards a service model. According to industry estimates, the co-living market is pegged at around $10 billion globally and is expected to be $15 billion by 2020. Rents for a shared living accommodation range from Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 a month on a sharing basis, while for an individual living it is Rs 18,000 to Rs 25,000 a month. Additionally, WeWork’s India arm is doubling the co-working space it offers in the country to 6 million square feet in 2019 and expand its presence to cities including Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad by the end of next year. The company currently operates 3 million sqft office space across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurgaon. The company had entered India in late 2016 through a joint venture with Bengaluru-based real estate developer Embassy Group. It started operations in July 2017, with its first co-working office space at Embassy’s Residency Road building in Bengaluru spread over 400,000 sq ft. Globally, WeWork is the largest private occupier of office space in Manhattan, London and Washington, D.C. with 400,000 members in 26 countries across 400 locations. In 2018,WeWork expanded to eight new countries, 34 new cities and 200 new locations.
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