M3M's Elie Saab Deal: Third Branded Residence Bet in NCR

M3M India has turned branded residences into its signature growth lever in the National Capital Region, and the recent tie-up with Lebanese couture house Elie Saab is its third such collaboration in a little over a year. The real estate developer is betting big on branded residences, with Elie Saab marking M3M's third tie-up for branded residences after partnerships with Trump Towers and Jacob & Co. The pattern is deliberate: partner with a globally recognised name, launch fast, and let brand recall do the heavy lifting on sales velocity.

The strategy started with Trump. The ELIE SAAB developments build on M3M Group's leadership in India's branded residences segment, following its earlier entry through a partnership with the Trump Organisation, and the group delivered North India's first Trump-branded residential project in Gurugram, followed by a second Trump-branded development launched through Smartworld Developers. A third Trump-branded residential project is currently anticipated in Noida, according to company officials. Promoter Pankaj Bansal has credited the format's success to buyer psychology: "Trump Towers in Gurugram is very different from projects which people have seen in Delhi-NCR. That has given confidence to the buyers and investors that branded residences are the way to go. The second Trump Tower in Gurgaon was sold out in 5 hours," Bansal says.

Jacob & Co. followed as the second collaboration. In 2025, M3M further expanded its branded housing footprint through a collaboration with Jacob & Co., the globally recognised luxury jeweller and watchmaker, and the partnership led to the launch of Jacob & Co. Residences. M3M India announced its collaboration with the New York-based luxury brand to unveil M3M Jacob & Co. Residences, situated in Sector 97 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, spanning approximately 6 acres. Demand outran the marketing calendar: "Our second branded residence project was with Jacob & Co in Noida. Even before we announce the project in October, the tower with bigger-sized apartments of about 6,000 sq. ft. was sold out," he adds.

Elie Saab is now the third and largest bet, spread across two cities. The "Signature Residences by Elie Saab" will come up in Sector 111 along Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram, developed by M3M India, while in Noida the ultra-luxury branded residences will be developed by M3M's subsidiary Smartworld Developers, coming up in Sector 98 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. The Gurugram tower is compact and exclusive: it sits on a low-density site of 2.75 acres within the Smart City Delhi Airport (SCDA) development area of Dwarka Expressway, with a gated community of three towers, each holding 300-336 exclusive 4 BHK designer residences. The project is located in Sector 111 on Dwarka Expressway, Gurugram, offering luxury 4 BHK and 4.5 BHK residences with utility rooms, with a starting price of approximately ₹14.60 crore.

The Noida leg of the Elie Saab partnership targets a wider buyer base. In Noida, the project will be located in Sector 98, spread across 6 acres, comprising 200 three- and four-bedroom residences ranging from 2,850 sqft to 3,810 sqft, along with 480 one- to two-bedroom apartments designed to offer enhanced privacy. On pricing, Bansal pegged the entry point for the smaller-format Noida units well below the Gurugram tower, while the investment for the Gurugram branded residences was put at around Rs 2,000 crore against a topline of Rs 4,700 crore, while the Noida project carries an investment of around Rs 1,500 crore with a topline of Rs 3,500 crore.

Add the two cities together and the numbers explain why M3M keeps returning to this format. M3M India has partnered with Lebanese designer Elie Saab to develop two luxury residential projects, one each in Gurugram and Noida, at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore, with the company pegging the revenue potential from the two projects at Rs 8,300 crore. Bansal frames the appeal in plain commercial terms: "Branded residences give us the edge in terms of selling it faster," Bansal tells Business Today.

The timing lines up with a broader industry shift. Savills data shows Asia-Pacific has recorded a 55 per cent increase in branded residences supply over the past five years, with India among the key growth markets, and besides Delhi-NCR, cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa, Jaipur and Ahmedabad are emerging as places where this segment is likely to flourish. India currently ranks 6th worldwide for live branded residence projects, accounting for approximately 4 per cent of global supply, and stands in the top 10 for upcoming pipeline. For M3M, stacking Trump, Jacob & Co. and now Elie Saab across Gurugram's Dwarka Expressway and Noida's Sector 97-98 corridor is less a one-off marketing move than a repeatable template for capturing NCR's fastest-growing luxury housing segment before competitors close the gap.