Century 21 SONA
Category Newsletter: HeadOffice
2016 Century 21 “SONA”
The 2016 year was defined by major events locally and globally which created unexpected challengers and the reprioritising of initiatives with minor adjustments to the brands business plans in the year. Major events, mainly political in nature, included Brexit, the USA Election results, the South African Local Government Elections and, unfortunately, it seemed that the government has been compromised somewhat by external interference in its business affairs. These, together with a continuous subdued commodity market impacted South Africa’s employment sector, consumer spending and the county’s sovereign risk profile negatively.
Although none of these events and its effects were economically catastrophic in any significant way, they unfortunately did create some negative tones in the macro economic environment and specifically with regards to the government being compromised, although the country has manged to keep its sovereign credit rating steady, all credit agencies have a negative outlook for the South African economy.
However, with around 8 000 franchises in 78 countries around the world, the power of the brand was made evident when we leveraged off our global intellectual collective and have not only held steady in our group’s performance so far for 2016 but impressively, also added 5 offices to our national network in critical territories. We are confident that the group will not lose any ground in this 2016 financial year and this is impressive when one considers our 36% growth in group sales for the previous financial year.
It has been a challenging year not only in the property industry but across all industries but the resolve and passion of all the people in the Century 21 South Africa group, starting from each and every agent around the country and filtering down to managers, franchisees and the head office compliment will ensure that our gains are entrenched and will form a solid foundation to grow the brand steadily and relevantly next year.
We are excited about our prospects and emboldened by the strength of the brand and its message. As we embark on a major drive to become the market leader in the digital space for the benefit of our clients, it is important to note that whatever marketing platform we use, the basics of real estate do not change and these “basics” include a personal service to our clients. The marketing and selling of property is personal and is emotional as we deal in client’s personal dreams and aspirations, their personal financial situations and with what is probably the biggest investment they will ever make, the personal home.
Also, we are confident about our prospects for 2017 because we are fully equipped to deal with whatever we encounter so whatever happens, the Century 21 brand has got the appeal, the benefits and the value propositions for growth no matter the market conditions. Further, and most importantly, our strength lies with our people and we believe it is our people that make our brand appealing and not the other way round.
Century 21 has become one of the most desired brands for agents to be associated with and amongst industry players in South Africa today and the owners, managers and staff of the brand are committed to ensure that whoever encounters the brand and its people will experience, professionalism, passion, integrity and empathy.
Author: Century 21 South Africa CEO - Harry Nicolaides
