JULY 2016 FORBES ASIA | 91ANTONIO: LAURA STEVENS FOR FORBES
wants to emulate: It doesn’t own any land and has no inven-
tory; it’s a global operation; and it uses technology in a disrup-
tive way. Antonio outsources fabrications to various factories
(mostly in the Philippines); his buyers so far span Russia and
Central America; and he says manufacturers are using ad-
vanced robotics to create the products.
To buy a Revolution home requires a 50% down pay-
ment before production begins, with the remainder paid on
delivery. Components are delivered in a flat container to the
customer, who is responsible for obtaining permits and a con-
tractor to build it (furniture and appliances are not included).
For an additional fee Antonio will provide a local developer
to assemble the structure. After launching last December,
Antonio set a goal of 144 home sales for 2016 and says he had
orders for more than 100 as of June. He is projecting $64 mil-
lion in revenues for 2016 and did not disclose his designers’
fees, but he claims Revolution’s profit margin is around 35%.
The market he has entered has been growing in recent
years, and other entrepreneurs have taken note. Christo-
pher Burch, former husband of designer Tory Burch, started
Cocoon9 with home builder Edwin Mahoney in 2010 to sell
prefab homes, with prices ranging from $75,000 to $225,000.
His company, which has a factory in New Jersey, produces
three models. The design magazine Dwell also offers its own
brand of prefab homes starting at $250 a square foot.
Antonio emphasizes that his homes are collectibles and
has been seeking prospective buyers at the global art fairs he
frequents. In recent months he jetted from Art Basel Miamito the Cannes Film
Festival and Art Basel
Switzerland, show-
casing his designer
pavilions to fellow
collectors. The pavil-
ions, which can cost
upwards of $120,000,
are intended for more
“aspirational players” and available in more limited editions.
His first major sale was a Zaha Hadid dining pavilion, which
went for close to €1.3 million in January, just months before
Hadid’s death. Still, the majority of Revolution’s market is in
affordable houses, sold mostly through developers whom he
plans to target at real estate fairs like Cityscape in Dubai. A few
months in, his model appears to be working: “85% of our busi-
ness so far is B2B,” Antonio says.
Phase Two of his business plan involves adding more
fashion houses to his roster in an effort to bring haute couture
to the prefab home market. “I want us to be a unicorn,” says
Antonio. “I want us to be the first unicorn in Southeast Asia.”Antonio’s prefab homes
sound like IKEA for
millionaires, but he was
inspired by Airbnb.
(The house above was
designed by Marcel
Wanders.)LUXURYF