Expat relocation a new niche business

A clutch of firms are catering to yet another sunrise industry.

With increasing numbers of expats and ethnic Indians arriving on postings in India, a business opportunity has opened up in relocating them from the West to India.

This fledgling 'industry' consists of a handful of organised players"" IKAN Relocation, Global Adjustments, Writers Relocation (a unit of Writer Corporation), India Orientation Services, Crown Relocations and Allied International"" and dozens of unorganised players.

There is no agreement among the constituents on industry size (estimates vary from Rs 30 crore by Rohit Kumar, joint MD of IKAN, to Rs 150 crore, by Gavin de Souza, joint MD of Writer Corporation). Estimates of annual growth rates over the last four or five years range from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.

The moving and packing industry, which facilitates the physical movement of the belongings of those who are relocating, is several times bigger.

Consultants from these firms assist newly arrived expatriates in scouting for a suitable house, with guidance in the laws of the land, imparting awareness of culture, currency rules and regulations, acceptable ways of interacting in society, soft skills, finding the right schools and the right club membership.

Kumar says he's trying to promote the ability of a company to outsource its relocation programme to a third party who manages it for them, so that its HR department can focus on its core activities.

Sebastian D'souza of Crown Relocations adds that in a typical case of a senior level executive moving in from the US, "the services would include immigration assistance, preview visits, shipment of household goods, home search, orientation once the person moves in and helping with the settling in process." The average billable revenue for this package, he says, would be Rs 10-12 lakhs.

Seeing the growth opportunities, a number of small players have entered, who are essentially into packing and moving, but offer to perform relocation services on the cheap"" something that customers are only too willing to exploit.

Kumar worries that once the current rapid growth plateaus, these inexperienced players will, through their poor service levels, queer the pitch for everyone.

He sees international players entering India shortly. Some of them are Cartus (formerly known as Cendant Mobility), Prudential, GMAC , Primacy Relocation, and Santa Fe. Right now they work in partnership with one or the other Indian players. Prudential and Primacy, for example, work through IKAN.

Kumar believes that offering services to expats will always remain a niche business. The real opportunity "is going to be relocation management services in the domestic market," as executives who move from one city to another willneed a certain amount of hand-holding until they settle in. D'souza of Crown agrees.