World Domination on the Cards for US Brand

18 Jun 2012 - Stacey Moseley from http://www.rebonline.com.au

 It takes agents with ‘big hairy audacious goals’ to be a part of Keller Williams Reality and that’s why the big brand will succeed in Australia, according to one US agent.

“Keller Williams is about passion, determination and total world domination so it is one of those things where it is expected that they would want to expand into Australia,” Imran Poladi, director of Keller Williams Realty Stockton CA, told Real Estate Business at the recent AREL Conference held in Sydney.

When it comes to taking on the big Australian brands Mr Poladi is not concerned.

“I look at it in the sense that whilst a brand is important, if you take away the name on the door, whether it is LJ Hooker, Ray White, Keller Williams, Harcourts, it doesn’t matter,” he continued.

“When you walk inside that office, or building does that company support the agent to the fullest?  If it doesn’t then it doesn’t matter what the name on the door is.

“I can say Keller Williams will be successful [in Australia], but it is up to the individual business owners on how they run their business.”

In an exclusive interview with Real Estate Business back in February Keller Williams Worldwide president, Chris Heller confirmed Australia was on their radar for expansion.

In February of this year the brand began their “world domination” with the opening of the company’s first overseas master franchise in Vietnam.

“It was our first office outside the North American continent,” he said.

“The office and people were a great fit for KW.”

Despite the global financial pressures Keller Williams Realty’s per agent productivity (in units closed) increased year over year, by 19 per cent according to CEO Mark Willis.

The brand continues to go from strength to strength since the shift in the real estate market in 2005, Keller Williams Realty has grown by more than 23 per cent in agent count to more than 75,000 and that the company gave back more than $38 million to its associates in profit share over the last year.

“If you break that down, we gave back $100,000 per day, every day last year to our associates," said Willis.

According to a statement by Keller Williams Realty the company is also in conversations with potential franchisees in several other countries, including: South Africa, New Zealand, Indonesia, Egypt and several Middle Eastern countries.