2010 was the turnaround year for Century 21 South Africa. Now under new ownership, a complete overhaul of the brand was undertaken and this was necessary due to the brand being in “limbo” for almost a year and a half as a result of the sad passing of the previous franchisor.

In just 10 months, the number of offices grew from 15 to 22. The foundation has now being laid to grow Century 21 South Africa and make it a serious player within 5 years and a dominant player within 10 years. It is not surprising though as Century 21 is the leading global property brand by way of number of offices. The December count was 8000 offices in 73 countries. Interesting numbers include 3000 offices in the USA, 1200 in China, 300 in Australia, 475 in Japan and France alone has 875 offices. Although Century 21 is a USA brand, there are now more offices outside the USA thus establishing it as a global brand.

Says Harry Nicolaides, the CEO of Century 21 South Africa, “during the last 3 years of the property down cycle, independent real estate offices have realised that in order to survive they need to be able to attract, train and retain top agents and in order to do this, they need to offer agents a brand that makes them relevant in their areas and has the tools, recognition programmes and a support structure that they deserve. As a new generation of agents enter the market, a top brand becomes a prerequisite for their success as merely associating with an established independent with a well connected principal owner is not a guarantee for their success any more. In fact, principals who do fall into this category have also now realised that their success moving forward depends more and more on recruiting top new generation agents. These new generation agents demand present day technology and systems coupled with top branding to become successful and in return, the principals sustain and grow their businesses”.

“There are a number of top large brands in South Africa today who are on top of the game but I think what makes us unique and gives us an advantage is that we have still to get representation in most areas where they already have representation. Therefore our growth moving forward is almost guaranteed while all they can do is some consolidating here and there”.

“We are proud of the turnaround and are now even more determined to grow. The Century 21 system has been around for over 40 years now and no one can dispute it’s acceptance with franchisees and clients alike. Somewhere along the line and when business sense prevails it has proved itself and is respected. My decision to acquire the master franchise for South Africa has been vindicated and I am proud to be associated with relevant franchisees and not “one hit wonders””.